Michigan confirms state’s first-ever plague case

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said Monday that an adult in Marquette County is recovering after being treated for the bubonic plague. The resident, whose name was not disclosed, recently returned from an area of Colorado that had reported plague activity.

Officials say it's the 14th case nationally this year for the rare, life-threatening, flea-borne illness. Humans most commonly get it when they are bitten by fleas that are infected with the bacteria, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The plague was introduced to the U.S. in 1900 by rat-infested steam ships that had sailed from infected areas, according to the CDC. Since then, the bacteria that causes plague, Yersinia pestis, has been present among wild rodents and their fleas in the western U.S. In a typical year, there are anywhere from one to more than a dozen cases of plague reported to the CDC. 

The western U.S. has experienced an increase in plague cases in 2015 compared to last year. Four of the cases were fatal.

Health experts say they have no concerns regarding human-to-human transmission in this case, and that plague generally doesn't occur in Michigan.

Early symptoms of plague include high fever, chills, nausea, weakness and swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpit or groin. The disease can be treated with antibiotics, but only if they are given to the patient as soon as possible after symptoms arise.

Al Jazeera and wire services