A New Mexico man has died of complications from the bubonic plague as state health officials scramble to assess the ongoing risk in the region.
The unidentified Lincoln Country resident had been hospitalized recently with the bacterial affliction, although the details surrounding how he contracted it and how his health deteriorated remain unclear, the state Department of Health (NMDOH) announced Friday.
Despite medics’ best efforts, the patient succumbed to his symptoms, marking New Mexico’s first recorded case of bubonic plague since 2021.
This was also the state’s first BP-related fatality since 2020; the state recorded four cases of the disease that year alone.
Plague “is a bacterial disease of rodents,” according to the health department, and generally spreads to humans through infected flea bites; it additionally can gain ground through direct contact with infected animals, such as rodents, wildlife and even pets.
