A California resident has tested positive for the plague after camping near Lake Tahoe, local health officials confirmed. It’s the latest in a string of positive cases in the western U.S. this year. The infected person was likely bitten by a plague-infected flea in the South Lake Tahoe area, according to local health officials. This […]
Flesh-Eating Bacteria Have Already Killed Four People in Florida This Year
A rare flesh-eating bacteria has killed four people in Florida this year, according to a recent report by the state’s Department of Health. The deadly bacteria, Vibrio vulnificus, is typically found in warm saltwater or brackish water. It can enter the body through open cuts or by consuming raw shellfish, and the microbe is often found […]
Leprosy’s Origins Are Even Weirder Than We Thought
One of the world’s oldest diseases has an even more complex history than expected. Research out today reveals that a form of leprosy was stalking people in the Americas long before Europeans arrived. A large international team of scientists conducted the study, published Thursday in Science. The researchers found DNA evidence of Mycobacterium lepromatosis—a recently […]