Most people don’t need to be concerned about the plague based on a recent death in Arizona. But take precautions if you live in areas where the plague has been found.

A patient in rural northern Arizona was diagnosed with plague—a bacterial disease caused by Yersinia pestis—after experiencing sudden fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, and respiratory distress. The case,

Septicemic plague occurs if bubonic plague is left untreated, or it can occur directly if the disease enters the bloodstream. Septicemic plague causes bleeding into the organs. The name comes from septicemia, which refers to a serious blood infection.