The New Mexico Department of Health has confirmed a case of bubonic plague in a 58-year-old woman who lives in the East Mountains area of Bernalillo County, and the woman is hospitalized and recovering, according to a health department news release.

The state health department confirmed the case Thursday night and is working with the Albuquerque Environmental Health Department to determine where the woman may have contracted the plague, the release said.

It was the fifth case of human plague confirmed in New Mexico this year, the health department said.

So far this year cases have been reported in Santa Fe, Torrance, San Juan and Bernalillo counties, and a boy from Bernalillo County died in June, the release said.

Previous cases this year have been associated with people receiving flea bites, which could be caused by pets bringing rodents or infected fleas into their homes.

State Epidemiologist C. Mack Sewell recommends using a flea control product on your pets and preventing them from roaming and hunting rodents, the release said.