For the second time this year, the plague has killed a person in Colorado, according to the Pueblo City-County Health Department.
Health department officials believe the person contracted the plague from fleas on a dead rodent or other animal, like a prairie dog. The town of Turkey Creek in Pueblo County has confirmed that a prairie dog in the town had the plague.
The health department did not name the victim, but offered condolences to the person's family.
Earlier this year, a teen in Colorado died from the plague, which officials believe he contracted after coming in contact with an infected animal or being bitten by a flea.
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The plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, and humans usually contract the illness after being bit by a flea carrying the bacteria or after handling an animal which had the plague, according to the CDC. A median of eight cases of human plague are reported each year in the U.S.
The plague can be treated with antibiotics, and advancements have reduced the overall plague mortality rate from 60 percent to about 16 percent.