Selected arthropod-borne diseases. Plague, Lyme disease, and babesiosis.

ABSTRACT

The incidence of plague, one of the oldest arthropod-borne diseases, has increased during the past 10 years in the United States. Domestic carnivores are playing an increased role in the occurrence of human cases. The cat is now the principal cause of primary human pneumonic plague in the United States. Lyme disease and babesiosis, which were initially thought to be limited to specific local regions, are much more widespread than originally thought.