Girl recovering from bubonic plague to head home

Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children says a 7-year-old girl recovering from bubonic plague is being discharged.

The hospital in Denver says Sierra Jane Downing of Pagosa Springs is scheduled to leave the hospital Monday afternoon.

Sierra Jane went to an emergency room in Pagosa Springs late Aug. 24 after she had a seizure and 107-degree fever. Sierra Jane eventually was flown to Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children in Denver, where doctors diagnosed her with bubonic plague.

It was the first human case of the disease confirmed in Colorado since 2006.

Sierra Jane started to recover after being treated with antibiotics.

Darcy Downing says her daughter may have been infected by insects near a dead squirrel that Sierra Jane wanted to bury while the family was camping in southwest Colorado.