One southern Colorado resident has reportedly died… of the plague…
(Bubonic Plague Still With Us :45)
It turns out the federal Centers for Disease Control consider that part of the state somewhat of a hotspot for the now-rare disease, that killed millions worldwide back in the Middle Ages. The San Juan Basin Public Health Department says the person who recently died, did so in Archuleta County, near the New Mexico border. Health leaders are still investigating just how that person got sick. These days, plague typically spreads through prairie dog colonies. The bites from their infected fleas are what actually give humans the disease. Modern antibiotics are effective against the plague, but you have to get fast, prompt treatment. Colorado has seen 16 human cases of the plague over the last decade, now including 3 deaths. The CDC says most plague in the US recently has come in a few regions– southern Colorado, northern New Mexico, northern Arizona, California, and parts of Oregon and Nevada.