A rare human case of bubonic plague was recently confirmed in the US state of Oregon, according to local health authorities.

The disease, which caused the so-called black plague, or black death, a pandemic which had wiped out almost a third of the population of Europe in the Middle Ages, is particularly rare in developed countries and can now be cured, however it remains potentially dangerous.

The patient resides in Deschutes County, in the northwestern United States. He is being treated and is believed to have possibly been infected by his cat.

“All close contacts of the resident and their pet have been contacted and they have been given medication to prevent the disease,” explained Dr. Richard Fawcett, health official in Deschutes County, when the case was identified last week.

According to the authorities, the symptoms of the plague in humans appear up to eight days after exposure to a sick animal or the bite of a flea that carries the disease.

Symptoms may include fever, nausea, weakness, chills, muscle aches.

If not diagnosed early, bubonic plague can develop into septicemic plague or pneumonic plague. These two diseases are considered even more serious.

“Fortunately, this case was detected and treated in the early stages of the disease,” meaning it “poses little risk to the community,” authorities said in a statement.

“No other cases of plague” were confirmed during “the investigation” carried out, they clarified.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the main federal health agency, there are an average of seven cases of plague per year in the US.

In Oregon, the last clinically confirmed case of bubonic plague was in 2015, according to health authorities in the state of more than 4.2 million residents.