Overview

• An unidentified Coconino County resident was transferred to Flagstaff Medical Center and died the same day from complications of bubonic plague caused by Yersinia pestis.
• The fatality is the first plague-related death in the United States this year and the first in northern Arizona since 2007.
• A sharp spike in prairie dog mortality in early July alerted authorities to Yersinia pestis activity in the region.
• Officials believe the infection likely stemmed from contact with an infected animal or its fleas and stress that person-to-person transmission remains very rare.
• Plague remains endemic across the U.S. Southwest with the CDC reporting 5 to 15 human cases annually and underscores the need for prompt antibiotic treatment within 24–48 hours of symptom onset.