
Heart disease and cancer are the two biggest killers in the US.

But there are other, less obvious causes of death that are specific to each state, such as syphilis in Louisiana and gun fire in Tennessee.

Now, a new map reveals the 'most distinctive' killers across the country – and the results can be surprising.

Scroll down for a full list of results

A new map by the New York State Cancer Registry shows the 'most distinctive' causes of death for each state. Rather than showing common causes of death, it reveals where a rate of death from a certain cause was higher than it was in the entire United States

This coloured key corresponds to the map to unusual causes of death. 'Black lung disease' – or pneumoconiosis – which is caused by breathing in certain dusts is a major threat in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky. Meanwhile, Alaska and Idaho, had more 'distinctive deaths' from plane or boat accidents and sepsis infection was the strangest cause of death in New Jersey

The map is 'a colourful and provocative way of starting some conversations and highlighting some unusual things that are going on,' study co-author Francis Boscoe, told LiveScience.

Created by the New York State Cancer Registry, the map shows how the flu is the most distinctive cause of death in northern states Maine, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

But being a 'distinctive' cause of death doesn't necessarily mean it kills the most people. Instead it shows the cause of death in each state that stands out compared to the national average.

In 22 states, the total number of deaths from a 'most distinctive' cause was less than 100.

'Black lung disease' – or pneumoconiosis – which is caused by breathing in certain dusts is a threat in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky.

Meanwhile, Alaska and Idaho, had more 'distinctive deaths' from plane or boat accidents and sepsis infection was the strangest cause of death in New Jersey.

HIV was the most distinctive cause of death in Florida, with 15,000 dying from the disease between 2001 to 2010 (left). 'Black lung disease' – or pneumoconiosis – which is caused by breathing in certain dusts, is a threat in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky. These also happen to be big mining states (right)

HIV was the most distinctive cause of death in Florida, with 15,000 dying from the disease between 2001 to 2010.

The most distinctive cause of death in New York and Connecticut was 'inflammatory diseases of female pelvic organs.'

Deaths caused by law enforcement officers, excluding legal executions, accounted for the most distinctive deaths in New Mexico, Nevada and Oregon.

'Although chronic-disease-prevention efforts should continue to emphasise the most common [national] conditions, an outlier map such as this one should also be of interest to public health professionals,' the researchers wrote in their report.

To create the map, the researchers began with a list of 113 causes of death from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For every state, the scientists determined the rate of death from each cause, and divided this by the rate of death from that cause in the US.

'A limitation of this map is that it depicts only one distinctive cause of death for each state. All of these were significantly higher than the national rate,' the researchers wrote.

'But here were many others also significantly higher than the national rate that were not mapped.'