Is the Plague Headed for SoCal? Study Says It's Likely

By MARC TORRENCE:

Researchers have created a predictive map of where plague may strike in the United States next.

At least 16 cases of human plague were reported in America in 2015, with at least four of those patients dying of the disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an August report that it was seeing a “higher than usual” number of cases of the plague in 2015.

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So researchers at State University of New York wanted to see where in the United States the next case is likely to pop up.

The study took into account population, climate and number of infected species, among other relevant factors, to create a heat map of the western United States, where plague is most prevalent.

You can see the results in the map above.

Northeastern and southwestern California were some of the highest at-risk area for cases of the plague. Central Colorado, parts of New Mexico, Washington and Oregon had high probabilities as well.

• Read the full human plague predictive map study here.