Plague is an emotive word, but the disease hantavirus is endemic to the South West U.S.A. It can be carried and transmitted by wild animals, rats and fleas, and can also be transmitted by inhaling droplets expelled by humans when coughing or sneezing. Fatal cases are said to be rare, and it can be treated with antibiotics, but up to 50% of cases can be fatal if pneumonia develops. While Arizona officials said the disease was on the rise, the Center for Disease Control said the same was not true nationally.

Probably 10 years back, on one of the Indian reservations in the Southwest, there were several people in one family that died. Can't remember which tribe or reservation, but it caused a stir at the time, because more than one died.