LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Community Health is reporting that a Michigan resident contracted a case of bubonic plague while in Colorado recently.
The department says that this is Michigan’s first plague diagnosis this year and only the 14th case nationwide. Officials say there is no concern of anyone catching the plague from another person.
The bubonic plague is a rare, life-threatening, flea-borne illness caused by the bacterium Yesinia pestis, according to the health department. The bacteria occurs naturally among wild rodents and their fleas in rural areas of the western U.S. The plague does not occur naturally in Michigan.
The person who has the plague lives in Marquette County and is recovering.
