Umatilla County health officials confirmed today that a local man was hospitalized with pneumonic plague.

The man is believed to have been infected while hunting in Lake County, Ore. He is receiving treatment for the disease.

"Plague is spread to humans through a bite from an infected flea," said Genni Lehnert-Beers, Umatilla County public health administrator. "Plague is serious but it is treatable with antibiotics if caught early."

Plague can be passed from fleas feeding on infected rodents, and then transmitted to humans.

Pneumonic plague also can be contracted through contact with infected tissues or fluids from handling sick or dead animals, and through respiratory droplets from cats or humans with plague.

Only three human cases of pneumonic plague have been diagnosed since 1995, including two in Lake County in 2010. All three people recovered.


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