Back in the 14th century, right during the Middle Ages, the Black Death swept through Europe, Asia and Africa and killed from 25 to 60 percent of the European population in a time when public health was at a low point, as millions perished - now, centuries later, a new wave of bubonic plague in 2015 could be turning into a health crisis.
Over the course of this year, there have been a total of 14 bubonic plague 2015 cases across the country, in all more than four times the annual average in the country (which is three) from contagion of the flea-borne potentially deadly illness.
According to Time Magazine, Michigan has just confirmed a new case of bubonic plague in 2015, the first in the state's history of public health records; however, the patient seems to have contracted the illness in Colorado, where there have been several cases of the infection this year.
As CNN reports, three people have died from this minor bubonic plague 2015 outbreak, namely an elderly Utah resident, an adult at Pueblo County and a teen in Larimer County, as the majority of the cases of this infection have been reported in the state of Colorado; in the past, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported that the majority of cases of bubonic plague have been between the states of Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.
While the 14 cases of bubonic plague in 2015 are considerably more than average for one year, it's still not a record.
The bubonic plague was first introduced to America in 1900, when rat-infested steamships reached the American shores from affected areas at the time, mostly in Asia.
According to Vox, the most common way for a human being to get bubonic plague 2015 is coming to contact with a flea carried by a rodent (such as squirrels, mice, rats or squirrels), which can bite the person and infect them with the disease.