[Tijeras_Slim]

It’s been in New Mexico a long time. I pretty much live in the ground zero for plague here, and it’s not illegal alien related, it’s locals that contract it usually from their cats that find dead rodents.

[cripplecreek]

Seems like they had a rash of Hanta virus deaths in the southwest some years back. I believe that was also a combination of rats and cats infecting people.

[depenzz]

I bow hunted in the Gila Wilderness about 25 years ago and I remember the guide telling me that the plague was still a factor. He said the locals use to pick pi'non (?) nuts to sell and they would have a hard time telling when the nut was good or bad. Someone discovered that the rats could somehow determine if the nut was a good one so the locals were robbing the rats nests and after awhile the plague started showing up and they discovered this was part of the reason for it.