--- title: Oregon Bubonic Plague: Here's What You Need to Know description: It's on the rise in the U.S., and nobody knows why canonical: https://time.com/4094862/bubonic-plague-facts/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-30T21:08:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T12:14:16.838Z article:section: Health og:title: Oregon Bubonic Plague: Here's What You Need to Know og:description: It's on the rise in the U.S., and nobody knows why og:url: https://time.com/4094862/bubonic-plague-facts/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Oregon Bubonic Plague: Here's What You Need to Know twitter:description: It's on the rise in the U.S., and nobody knows why twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Here's What You Need to Know About the Bubonic Plague > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=eb7854d3-65bf-4b30-89d2-032264f4e8d1&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Weekdays | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Weekly | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Twice a week | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | Source: TIME, August 2026. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=eb7854d3-65bf-4b30-89d2-032264f4e8d1&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=eb7854d3-65bf-4b30-89d2-032264f4e8d1&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (health, weekdays), Worth Your Time (culture, weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, twice weekly), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=eb7854d3-65bf-4b30-89d2-032264f4e8d1&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Oct 30, 2015 9:08 PM UTC  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Oct 30, 2015 9:08 PM UTC The Oregon teen who was [hospitalized with bubonic plague last weekend](http://time.com/4094046/oregon-girl-bubonic-plague/) marked the 16th reported case of the illness so far this year in the U.S. That’s already six more cases of the plague than in all of last year, and the numbers have been steadily rising since 2010, when there were only two people in the U.S. diagnosed with the plague, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far this year, three people have died of the illness, and the CDC [says](http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6433a6.htm) it’s “unclear” why cases are on the rise. The teenager from Oregon, who is in intensive care after being hospitalized on Oct. 24, likely caught the plague from an infected flea during a hiking trip, according to a statement from Oregon authorities. \[findthebest id=”jmup66uVz5b” title=”Number of Plague Cases in the United States Over Time” width=”600″ height=”505″ url=”[https://w.graphiq.com/w/jmup66uVz5b”](https://w.graphiq.com/w/jmup66uVz5b”); link=”[http://conditions.healthgrove.com”](http://conditions.healthgrove.com”); link\_text=”Number of Plague Cases in the United States Over Time | HealthGrove”\] As likely occurred in the Oregon case, the plague is generally transmitted through fleas that pick up the infectious bacterial disease from infected rodents. Plague was responsible for the [Black Death that killed almost a third of Europe’s population](http://www.history.com/topics/black-death) during the 14th century. The plague first came to the U.S. on rat-infested steamships that arrived in 1900, and the last recorded plague epidemic in the U.S. was in Los Angeles in the 1920s. Since then, cases have been periodically reported, usually in the rural areas in the West and Southwest with large populations of wild rodents. Symptoms include fever, weakness, chills, and swollen and tender lymph nodes. Some victims will get black pustules. Left untreated, the plague is extremely lethal, with a 66%-93% mortality rate, [according to the CDC](http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6433a6.htm). But if treated with antibiotics, only about 16% of patients die of the plague. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4094862/bubonic-plague-facts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4094862/bubonic-plague-facts/"},"headline":"Here's What You Need to Know About the Bubonic Plague","datePublished":"2015-10-30T21:08:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:14:16.838Z","description":"It's on the rise in the U.S., and nobody knows why","url":"https://time.com/4094862/bubonic-plague-facts/","keywords":["diseases","sick","oregon","plague"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/diseases/","name":"diseases"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4094862/bubonic-plague-facts/","name":"Here's What You Need to Know About the Bubonic Plague"}}]}] ```