What happened when pneumonic plague appeared in Wyoming?

When health officials in Wyoming investigated a case of pneumonic plague in 2021, it was a reminder that this ancient disease hasn't disappeared. Pneumonic plague is the most serious form of plague—a bacterial infection that affects the lungs and can spread through coughs or close contact. The investigation report doesn't tell us who was affected, how they became ill, or what the outcome was. It simply documents that the disease appeared, which serves as an important alert for both the public and doctors to be aware that plague still circulates in some wildlife in the western United States and can occasionally jump to humans.