The bubonic plague can be spread through flea bites.
Source: CDC
A teenaged girl in Oregon has been diagnosed with the bubonic plague, which she may have contracted from a flea bite while on a hunting trip, according to NPR.
The bubonic plague is one of the varieties of plague, a disease that ravaged Europe in the Middle Ages. A few cases still show up in the United States from time to time.
Unlike pneumonic plague — which can spread through the air, bubonic plague is not contagious. It is also not typically fatal — since doctors began treating patients with antibiotics, the mortality rate fell from 66 percent to 11 percent.
But it does need to be caught early. Patients will experience headaches, fever, swollen lymph nodes, and can even lose appendages, such as fingers and toes.
