7-Year-Old Girl Contracts Bubonic Plague At Colorado Campground - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

NBCNEWS/DENVER -- A seven-year-old girl is recovering at a Denver hospital from a rare case of bubonic plague she likely contracted from fleas feeding on a dead squirrel at a southwestern Colorado campground, hospital officials said on Wednesday.

Sierra Jane Downing is "fortunate to be alive," but is on the road to recovery after her near-fatal bout with the disease, the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children said in a statement.

It marked the first confirmed case of bubonic plague in Colorado since 2006, the hospital said.

Sierra's father Sean Downing described how his daughter had a seizure and stopped breathing for a couple of minutes.

"I thought she died, and I was just running for the ER," he said. click here to read more