A teenager from Crook County, Ore., is being treated for bubonic plague in an intensive care unit in Bend, Ore., after contracting the disease during a hunting trip, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
Officials believe the girl got the disease from a flea bite. She is only the eighth case of plague recorded in Oregon since 1995, and no deaths from the plague have been reported in the state.
Plague, caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium, is treatable with common antibiotics, according to the CDC.
The U.S. has had a rash of plague cases this year, outnumbering the average number of cases. In August, the CDC reported there had been 11 confirmed plague cases in the U.S., and more have been reported since. From 2011 to 2012, the number of plague cases in the U.S. has ranged from one to 17, with a median of three cases per year.
The CDC provides information on the plague for healthcare professionals here.