Utah Plague Death: Fourth US Person To Die Of Disease This Year

Plague has now eaten its fourth victim in Utah, health officials confirmed Thursday. He might have caught the illness from a dead animal or a flea.

"That's the most common way to get it," said JoDee Baker, an epidemiologist with the agency, according to the Associated Press. "That's probably what happened, but we're still doing an investigation into that."

The foundational bacteria of the plague, Yersinia pestis, is inherent in the environment and is found in places with rodents like rats, squirrels and chipmunks, according to CNN.  Patients usually develop symptoms between two and six days after exposure. They include "generally feeling sick, a sudden fever, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting."

Baker revealed that his death earlier this month is the first in the state since 2009. He says that anyone who planned to go out on a camping trip or visit to rural areas should apply DEET-filled insect repellents.

A person who is undergoing or is aware that someone else shows the symptoms should take antibiotics.

The most common instances of plague are in rural and semi-rural areas and mostly in western states such as Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, according to hngn.