The plague, although rare, still exists
The plague killed millions of people, perhaps even 30% of the population, in Europe in the Middle Ages. Did you know that the plague still exists? I was a bit surprised to come across this article about a new antibiotic for treatment of the plague.
FDA Clears J&J Antibiotic For Treatment Of Plague
There have been no human cases of the plague in Canada since 1939, but it’s still here: here’s an article about finding it in a prairie dog in 2010.
The plague found in Saskatchewan prarie dog
For more information on the plague, see this article from eMedicineHealth. There are 1000 to 2000 reported cases in humans each year, mostly in Africa. The good news is that it can be treated with antibiotics if caught early. The bad news is that it still kills people who don’t get treated — for example, 182 deaths in 2003.