MONDAY, July 14, 2025 (HealthDay News) — An Arizona resident has died from pneumonic plague, a rare but serious illness, health officials confirmed. The death happened in Coconino County in Northern Arizona, which includes Flagstaff. Officials gave no information about the person who died, The Associated Press reported.

Pneumonic plague is caused by bacteria carried by species like rats and prairie dogs. Pneumonic and bubonic plague transmission and symptoms vary. Pneumonic plague killed a resident of northern Arizona, who died in the emergency room at Flagstaff Medical Center.

The patient had the pneumonic plague, the rarest and deadliest form of the disease. Human cases remain very uncommon in the United States, though plague is endemic to the western part of the country