The Bubonic Plague known throughout history as the "Black Death" has reportedly struck Oregon. A teen girl has been diagnosed with the disease and is currently in the intensive care unit, according to authorities at the Crook County Public Health Department and Oregon Health Authority.

The teenager is suspected to have contracted the disease while hunting when she was  bitten by an infected flea. She started to feel sick on Oct. 21 and was later hospitalized in Bend, Oregon on Oct. 24.

The Center for Disease Control recounts 15 cases of the Bubonic Plague this year. Four of those cases were fatal.

As CNN explains, the disease is not usually found in Oregon, but in rural areas of states like New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado.

The disease occurs naturally in the environment and "humans become infected by fleas who have fed off of infected rodents such as rats, chipmunks and squirrels."

Symptoms

The Bubonic Plague is marked by swollen lymph nodes, which can become as large as a chicken egg in either the groin, armpit, or neck. The deadly disease also induces abdominal pain, fever, chills, headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and historically death.

As The History Channel reports, the plague was brought to Europe by "death ships" in October 1347. 12 Infected Genoese trading boats "docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after a long journey through the Black Sea. The people who gathered on the docks to greet the ships were met with a horrifying surprise: Most of the sailors aboard the ships were dead, and those who were still alive were gravely ill. They were overcome with fever, unable to keep food down and delirious from pain. Strangest of all, they were covered in mysterious black boils that oozed blood and pus and gave their illness its name: the 'Black Death.'"

Sicilian authorities ordered the boats to leave the harbor, but alas it was too late and over the next five years the fatal disease decimated the European population, killing 20 million people.

Since then, the disease has subsided thanks to better sanitary conditions. However, although at bay, it has not been eradicated.

Cure and Vaccinations

At this time, there is no vaccination, but there are reports of developments. However, as the CDC cites, the vaccine will not be commercially available anytime soon. Treatment for now calls for immediate medical attention and antibiotics, within 24 hours is best.