CLOVIS, NM (AP) -- State health officials say a Streptococcus infection has left two Curry County residents dead and another hospitalized.

All three cases were discovered within the last week, but the New Mexico Department of Health says it has no evidence that the cases are linked.

A 23-year-old woman and a 53-year-old man died of the infection, while a 58-year-old man is being treated at Plains Regional Medical Center.

The department says group A Streptococcus is a common bacteria often found in the throat and the skin. People can carry the infection without showing any sign of illness. The infection can be passed from person to person.

Department spokeswoman Deborah Busemeyer says it's not common to see three severe cases in the same location over the same time period.

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