--- description: The state health department has found a total of four people infected with the pneumonic plague title: New Cases of Plague in Colorado image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 3 New Plague Cases Confirmed in Colorado  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 18, 2014 6:43 PM CUT  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 18, 2014 6:43 PM CUT Three new cases of plague have been identified in Colorado for a [total](https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/news-release-three-additional-colorado-residents-identified-plague "undefined") so far of four, the state health department announced Friday. The four people diagnosed all had contact with a dog that died of the plague. The initial patient remains hospitalized but the three infected later “all had minor symptoms, were treated with appropriate antibiotics, recovered and are no longer contagious,” the health department said in a release. Plague is spread from rodent—in this case prairie dogs—to other animals, including humans, by rogue fleas. Of the 60 cases of plague in its various forms that Colorado has seen in recent years, nine people have died from the disease, according to a Bloomberg [report](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-18/four-cases-of-life-threatening-plague-found-in-colorado.html "undefined"). Doctors recommend keeping a safe distance from any rodents, alive or dead. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3005883/plague-colorado-new-cases/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3005883/plague-colorado-new-cases/"},"headline":"3 New Plague Cases Confirmed in Colorado","datePublished":"2014-07-18T18:43:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:06:09.951Z","description":"The state health department has found a total of four people infected with the pneumonic plague","url":"https://time.com/3005883/plague-colorado-new-cases/","keywords":["Living","Colorado","Denver","plague"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"","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":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3005883/plague-colorado-new-cases/","name":"3 New Plague Cases Confirmed in Colorado"}}]}] ```