Plague in Arizona: Health officials address concerns after Flagstaff death
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Pneumonic Plague: Yersinia Pestis Kills Arizona Patient, First Death Since 2007
The patient, infected by the Yersinia pestis bacterium, succumbed despite resuscitation efforts. Despite ‘appropriate initial management’ and life-saving resuscitation attempts, the unidentified patient died the same day they sought treatment. The plague, infamous for the Black Death in medieval Europe, manifests in three forms: bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic. The CDC reports an average of seven plague cases annually in the U.S., primarily in rural western states, though fatalities are rare with early antibiotic treatment. Authorities stress that while plague remains rare, early detection and treatment are critical to preventing fatalities.
A Coconino County resident succumbed to pneumonic plague at Flagstaff Medical Centre’s Emergency Department, marking the first recorded death from the disease in the county since 2007, according to Northern Arizona Healthcare. Rapid diagnostic tests confirmed the presence of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for the severe lung infection, with final results verified Friday by Coconino County Health and Human Services (CCHHS). Despite “appropriate initial management” and life-saving resuscitation attempts, the unidentified patient died the same day they sought treatment.
The plague, infamous for the Black Death in medieval Europe, manifests in three forms: bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic, with the latter being the most severe due to its potential for human-to-human transmission via infectious droplets. The CDC reports an average of seven plague cases annually in the U.S., primarily in rural western states, though fatalities are rare with early antibiotic treatment. CCHHS emphasised that the risk of human-to-human transmission is low, with the last known case in 1924.
Investigation Underway , No Link to Prairie Dog Die-Off
Earlier this week, CCHHS reported a prairie dog die-off in the Townsend Winona area northeast of Flagstaff, a potential indicator of plague activity due to infected fleas. However, officials confirmed the human death is unrelated to this event, which occurred on private land where fleas are being tested and burrows treated. The CDC notes that humans typically contract plague from flea bites or handling infected animals, particularly rodents or sick pets like cats.
Northern Arizona Healthcare is collaborating with CCHHS and the Arizona Department of Health Services to trace the source of the infection. “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the deceased,” said Coconino County Board of Supervisors Chair Patrice Horstman. The hospital urged anyone with symptoms like fever, chills, or swollen lymph nodes to seek immediate medical care and request a mask to prevent potential spread.
Public Urged to Take Precautions
Health officials are advising residents to avoid contact with wild animals, use insect repellent with 20-30% DEET, and treat pets with veterinarian-approved flea control. Prairie dog colonies, while not long-term plague reservoirs, can signal their presence when die-offs occur, as seen in the Townsend Winona area. CCHHS encourages reporting sudden rodent or rabbit die-offs to their Animal Services (928-679-8756) or Environmental Health (928-679-8760) lines.
The investigation continues, with no further details released about the patient out of respect for the family. Authorities stress that while plague remains rare, early detection and treatment are critical to preventing fatalities. Residents are asked to remain vigilant, especially in rural areas where the bacterium persists in wildlife.
Bubonic plague death reported in Arizona: Is the medieval disease spreading again in America?
The patient was being treated at Flagstaff Medical Centre. Doctors confirmed a likely diagnosis of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes bubonic plague. Despite emergency care, the patient did not survive. This is the first plague-related death in Arizona’s Coconino County since 2007. The identity of the deceased remains private due to confidentiality rules. Health officials are urging people in the region to avoid contact with wild rodents and report any sudden symptoms. A prairie dog die-off could signal an outbreak of the deadly disease. The disease is transmitted by fleas and efforts are being made to test the fleas from prairie dogs.
This is the first plague-related death in Arizona’s Coconino County since 2007. The identity of the deceased remains private due to confidentiality rules.
What is bubonic plague?
Bubonic plague is one of the three forms of plague caused by Yersinia pestis. It spreads through wild rodents like rats or mice and can jump to humans, mostly through the bite of infected fleas. In the Middle Ages, it killed millions across Europe and earned the name ‘Black Death’.
⚠️ BREAKING:
US Resident Infected With Severe Form of Bubonic Plague Dies
The same bubonic plague that killed millions of people in Europe during the Middle Ages. pic.twitter.com/BSyDvetkUs — SARS‑CoV‑2 (COVID-19) (@COVID19_disease) July 12, 2025
The bubonic version causes symptoms like fever, weakness, chills, and large swollen lymph nodes called buboes. If caught early, antibiotics can treat the infection. But if untreated, the disease can become deadly or even turn into a more dangerous version like septicaemic or pneumonic plague.
What happened in Arizona?
The patient in Arizona was diagnosed with pneumonic plague, the most severe form of the disease. This version infects the lungs and can spread through cough droplets, making it the only plague type that transmits from person to person. It comes with fever, chest pain, difficulty breathing, and coughing, sometimes with bloody mucus.
An Arizona resident has died from the bubonic plague and health officials warn that a prairie dog die-off could signal an outbreak of the deadly disease. The disease is transmitted by fleas and efforts are being made to test the fleas from prairie dogs. There are only around 7… pic.twitter.com/9wkgdUMyC5 — Robbie Mouton (@mcgmouton57) July 11, 2025
Northern Arizona Healthcare said the patient was given immediate care, but unfortunately didn’t recover. Officials have not revealed how the patient was exposed.
Should Americans be worried?
While plague cases are rare, they do happen occasionally in the US. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reminds people that antibiotics are highly effective if given in time. Still, this death has sparked concerns about awareness and preparedness, especially since the incubation period for some forms can be as short as one day.
The case is under investigation and health officials are urging people in the region to avoid contact with wild rodents and report any sudden symptoms.
A human plague death was confirmed in northern Arizona. What to know
A person has died of pneumonic plague in Coconino County, Arizona. It is the first such death in the county since 2007. The death is unrelated to a recent die-off of prairie dogs in the area, officials say. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says plague in humans is relatively rare, with about seven cases reported annually in the United States. The risk of human-to-human transmission of plague is very low, county officials say, citing information from the National Institutes of Health. The disease can become septicemic (spreading throughout the bloodstream) and/or pneumonic (affecting the lungs) If diagnosed and treated early, plague is curable with proper antibiotic therapy if diagnosed and treating early, the CDC says. The symptoms of plague in human typically appear within one to eight days after exposure and may include fever, chills, headache, weakness and muscle pain, health officials say; some individuals may also develop swollen lymph nodes (called “buboes”) in the groin, armpits or limbs.
The death is unrelated to a recent die-off of prairie dogs in the area, which may also be plague-related.
Pneumonic plague, a severe lung infection, is rare in humans, with only about seven cases reported annually in the U.S.
A human has died of pneumonic plague in northern Arizona, Coconino County health officials confirmed July 11.
The case is not connected to a recent die-off of prairie dogs in the area, officials said.
The death of the Coconino County resident marks the first recorded pneumonic plague death in the county since 2007, officials with Coconino County Health and Human Services said in a statement.
The 2007 plague death is not the most recent human plague case in Arizona. Arizona has had seven cases of plague since 2006, according to data provided to The Arizona Republic by Trish Lees, Coconino County Health and Human Services spokesperson.
In addition to the 2025 case, there were two cases in 2007 (including the death), one in 2008, two in 2015, one in 2017 and one in 2020.
The county’s confirmation of the death came after Northern Arizona Healthcare issued a statement that one of its patients had a presumptive positive diagnosis of Yersinia pestis, which is the bacterium that causes plague.
The person recently died in the Flagstaff Medical Center emergency department on the day the person sought treatment, the statement said.
The Northern Arizona Healthcare statement says that “despite appropriate initial management and attempts to provide life-saving resuscitation, the patient did not recover” and says that Northern Arizona Healthcare team is “saddened by this loss of a community member.”
Citing patient privacy, officials with Northern Arizona Healthcare and Coconino County said they would not be releasing additional information about the patient who died, including the person’s age or gender.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says plague in humans is relatively rare, with about seven human cases reported annually across the country. Deaths from plague are also uncommon. There were 15 plague deaths nationwide during the 23-year period between 2000 and 2023, the CDC says.
Since the mid–20th century, plague in the U.S. has typically occurred in the rural West, the CDC says.
Pneumonic plague is a severe lung infection, according to Coconino County health officials. A 2015 CDC report characterized it as the least common of the three main forms of plague. The other two main forms are bubonic and septicemic.
The CDC says Yersinia pestis is transmitted by fleas, cycles naturally among wild rodents and that humans usually get the plague after being bitten by an infected rodent flea or by handling an infected animal. People may also become infected through exposure to sick pets, especially cats, the CDC says.
County officials are investigating a recent sudden die-off of prairie dogs in the Townsend Winona area northeast of Flagstaff that may be caused by plague, but county officials on July 11 said in their statement that the prairie dog case and the human plague death are “not related.”
Coconino County officials say the risk of human-to-human transmission of plague is very low. The last reported occurrence of human-to-human transmission was in 1924, officials said, citing information from the National Institutes of Health.
Symptoms of plague in humans typically appear within one to eight days after exposure and may include fever, chills, headache, weakness and muscle pain, health officials say. Some individuals may also develop swollen lymph nodes (called “buboes”), most commonly in the groin, armpits or limbs.
The disease can become septicemic (spreading throughout the bloodstream) and/or pneumonic (affecting the lungs) but is curable with proper antibiotic therapy if diagnosed and treated early.
How to prevent exposure to the plague
To prevent exposure to plague, Coconino County officials have the following tips:
Avoid contact with wild animals. Never feed or handle wild rodents and avoid areas where they are known to live. Do not touch sick or dead animals.
Avoid fleas. Use an insect repellent containing 20-30 percent DEET and tuck pant cuffs into your socks to help prevent flea bites.
Use veterinarian-approved flea treatments on pets, keep them on a leash, and keep them out of areas known to be inhabited by wild rodents.
Report prairie dog die-offs. Prairie dogs are highly susceptible to plague but are not considered a long-term reservoir of the disease. Those noticing a sudden die-off of rodents or rabbits within Coconino County are urged to contact CCHHS Animal Services at 928-679-8756 or Environmental Health at 928-679-8760.
Prevent rodent infestations by removing brush, rock piles, trash, and lumber from around homes and outbuildings. Store food in rodent-proof containers.
Do not camp next to rodent burrows and avoid sleeping directly on the ground.
Seek veterinary care for sick pets. If your pet shows symptoms such as a high fever or swollen lymph nodes, is lethargic, has a loss of appetite or develops a cough or eye drainage, contact a veterinarian immediately. It is recommended to call before visiting the veterinarian’s office for instructions to help limit exposureto potential disease.
Be aware that cats are highly susceptible to plague and while they can get sick from a variety of illnesses, a sick cat (especially one allowed to run at large outside) should receive care by a veterinarian for proper diagnosis and treatment.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
Republic reporter Catherine Reagor contributed to this article
Reach health-care reporter Stephanie Innes at Stephanie.Innes@gannett.com, follow her on X: @stephanieinnes or on Bluesky: @stephanieinnes.bsky.social.
Person in Arizona Dies of Pneumonic Plague
An Arizona resident has died after experiencing a rare case of the plague. The unidentified patient from Coconino County, Ariz., arrived at Flagstaff Medical Center Emergency Department where they died later the same day. It marked the county’s first recorded death from the illness since 2007.
An Arizona resident has died after experiencing a rare case of the plague.
The unidentified patient from Coconino County, Ariz., arrived at Flagstaff Medical Center Emergency Department where they died later the same day, Northern Arizona Healthcare said in a statement obtained by NBC News July 11.
While the exact date of the patient’s death was not disclosed, the hospital noted that “appropriate initial management” and “attempts to provide life-saving resuscitation” were performed prior to the individual’s passing.
After rapid diagnostic testing showed a presumptive diagnosis of Yersinia pestis, subsequent testing results showed that the patient’s death was caused by pneumonic plague, Coconino County Health and Human Services told the outlet. It marked the county’s first recorded death from the illness since 2007, per local officials.
Pneumonic plague—typically caused by Y. pestis bacterium entering the lungs—is one of three types of plague along with bubonic and septicemic, according to the Cleveland Clinic. While bubonic plague, the most common of the three, usually affects lymph nodes bitten by fleas, septicemic occurs when Y. pestis gets into the bloodstream.
Northern Arizona Resident Dies From Plague
Plague is rare to humans, with on average about seven cases reported annually in the U.S. Most cases happen in rural areas of northern New Mexico, northern Arizona, southern Colorado, California, southern Oregon and far western Nevada. The bacteria is transmitted through the bites of infected fleas that can spread it between rodents, pets and humans.
Plague is rare to humans, with on average about seven cases reported annually in the U.S., most of them in the western states, according to federal health officials.
The death in Coconino County, which includes Flagstaff, was the first recorded death from pneumonic plague since 2007, local officials said. Further details including the identify of the victim were not released.
Plague is a bacterial infection known for killing tens of millions in 14th century Europe. Today, it’s easily treated with antibiotics.
The bubonic plague is the most common form of the bacterial infection, which spreads naturally among rodents like prairie dogs and rats.
There are two other forms: septicemic plague that spreads through the whole body, and pneumonic plague that infects the lungs.
Pneumonic plague is the most deadly and easiest to spread.
The bacteria is transmitted through the bites of infected fleas that can spread it between rodents, pets and humans.
People can also get plague through touching infected bodily fluids. Health experts recommend taking extra care when handling dead or sick animals.
Most cases happen in rural areas of northern New Mexico, northern Arizona, southern Colorado, California, southern Oregon and far western Nevada, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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