India, July 12 -- Coconino County health officials reported on July 11 that a person in northern Arizona died from bubonic (pneumonic) plague.

According to the officials, the incident has nothing to do with a recent prairie dog die-off in the region.

Authorities from Coconino County Health and Human Services stated in a statement that the person's death is the first pneumonic plague mortality in the county since 2007.

The patient suffered from Yersinia pestis, the plague-causing bacteria, according to Northern Arizona Healthcare, which was determined by the Arizona Department of Health Services through rapid diagnostic testing.

Historically, the plague has been linked to Europe's Middle Ages, when it was widespread and caused one of t...