Oregon Teen Is Latest Plague Victim

A teen in Oregon is the 16th person in the US to contract the bubonic plague this year. The girl fell ill on Oct. 21 while on a hunting trip in Morrow County and was hospitalized a few days later, officials say, adding she likely acquired the infectious disease "from a flea bite," per OregonLive. Fleas that host on infected animals like squirrels and other wild rodents can pass the disease to humans, though it can be treated with antibiotics if caught early. Though no one has died of the plague in Oregon since 1995, four of those infected in the US this year have succumbed to the disease, reports CNN. (Two of those deaths occurred in one state.)