Plague still strikes Africa and the U.S. every year, but antibiotics cure it

The plague, a bacterial infection that killed tens of millions in 14th-century Europe, still causes human cases annually in Africa and the U.S., though it is now easily treatable with antibiotics. Since the 1990s, most human cases have been reported in Africa, particularly Congo and Madagascar, while the U.S. averages about seven cases per year, mostly in rural Western areas. A recent death at a Siberian plague research institute raised alarm, but Russian authorities found no evidence of plague. The bacteria spreads via fleas from rodents and can cause bubonic, pneumonic, or septicemic forms. Early antibiotic treatment cures the disease, and a vaccine exists only for high-risk workers, with no vaccine available in the U.S.