An Arizona resident had succumbed to the Black Death, marking the county’s first plague death since 2007. 

Coconino County health officials withheld the person’s name and gender, but confirmed their cause of death to be pneumonic plague caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. 

The patient showed up to the Flagstaff Medical Center Emergency Department and died there the same day despite life-saving attempts. 

An average of seven human plague cases are reported each year in the US, but those cases aren’t always fatal, according to data from the CDC from 2000 to 2023.

The hospital is collaborating with Coconino County Health and Human Services and the Arizona Department of Health Services to investigate the incident.

Earlier this week, Coconino County Health and Human Services (CCHHS) warned of a prairie dog die-off near Townsend Winona, just northeast of Flagstaff — a potential warning sign of plague activity. However, officials confirmed the recent human fatality is unrelated to this animal outbreak. 

The lack of a connection with prairie dogs suggests another exposure source in the area. 

Pneumonic plague, the most dangerous form of the Black Death, primarily spreads by inhaling droplets of saliva emitted from an an infected person or animal coughing or sneezing. 

The patient showed up to the Flagstaff Medical Center Emergency Department and died there the same day despite life-saving attempts

Infection can also arise from handling infected cats, rodents, or their fleas. It leads to a severe lung infection, rapid breathing, and high fever. 

Antibiotics are now effective in treating the disease, but officials say without prompt treatment the pneumonic plague is fatal about half the time. 

‘Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the deceased,’ said Coconino County Board of Supervisors Chair Patrice Horstman. 

‘We are keeping them in our thoughts during this difficult time. Out of respect for the family, no additional information about the death will be released.’ 

Plague symptoms strike within one to 8 days, with fever, chills, and brutal fatigue. 

It’s often accompanied by agonizing swollen lymph nodes (buboes) in groin or armpits. Left untreated, it can ravage the blood or lungs. 

The plague conjures images of medieval Europe’s darkest age, when the Black Death wiped out millions in a gruesome pandemic that reshaped the continent.

Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado account for the majority of infections, according to the CDC. 

In 2017, New Mexico recorded three cases of the plague in people aged 52, 62, and 63. 

Of the three cases, two were bubonic, and one pneumonic. There are three types of human plague, with the third being septicemic, all of which have different symptoms. 

A New Mexico man has become the first US plague fatality since 2020 last year.

The unidentified patient, from Lincoln County near Albuquerque, died after contracting Yersinia pestis. 

Plague cases in the U.S. are rare (fewer than 10 annually) and mostly occur in the Four Corners region (New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah), where rodents and fleas thrive. 

Modern antibiotics and hygiene have drastically reduced deaths, but the disease remains endemic in wildlife. Health officials urge caution in high-risk areas.

Northern Arizona Healthcare said in a statement: ‘NAH would like to remind anyone who suspects they are ill with a contagious disease to contact their health care provider. 

‘If their illness is severe, they should go to the Emergency Department and immediately ask for a mask to help prevent the spread of disease while they access timely and important care.’