Comment by chasil

Yersina Pestis is endemic to the southwest areas of the United States, and causes an average of seven cases of plague per year.

'The “young adult male” died eight hours after he was admitted to the hospital, where doctors initially suspected he had hantavirus disease or bacterial pneumonia. Post-mortem testing confirmed Y pestis presence in his blood and lung tissue. It's Arizona’s first pneumonic plague death since 2007.'

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/plague/cdc-reminds-doctors-southw...

"Plague was first introduced into the United States in 1900, from rat–infested steamships that had sailed from affected areas. Epidemics occurred in port cities. The last urban plague epidemic in the United States occurred in Los Angeles from 1924 through 1925."

https://www.cdc.gov/plague/maps-statistics/index.html