VALENCIA COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – State health officials are reporting the year's first case of plague in a person. The New Mexico Department of Health said a 43-year-old man from Valencia County was hospitalized with the bacterial disease but has since been discharged.

They said the man recently spent time camping in Rio Arriba County, and may have contracted the plague there. Plague normally affects rodents but can be transmitted to humans through infected fleas. It can also be spread by direct contact with infected animals, including wildlife and pets.

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