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Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,842
Registered: ‎04-23-2010

Squirrel with bubonic plaque question

What is the deal with this squirrel in Colorado? And how this squirrel was discovered? 

Do they check random squirrels nationally??! What raised the suspicion about this squirrel? Such a bizarre story.  Bubonic plaque? What’s next?

Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,655
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Squirrel with bubonic plaque question

In that area of the country, bubonic plague in rodents of which squirrels are a part of, is quite common. The fleas carry the bacteria, bite the rodents who in turn could bite humans & spread it to us.

 

Antibiotics work against it on humans if caught early enough in humans. Untreated bubonic plague in humans can turn into respiratory transmitted plague called pneumonic plague which is much more serious.

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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,473
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Squirrel with bubonic plaque question

@SANNA 

 

My thoughts exactly....

 

 

How did he get a test?

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Registered: ‎05-23-2010

Re: Squirrel with bubonic plaque question

[ Edited ]

@SANNA wrote:

What is the deal with this squirrel in Colorado? And how this squirrel was discovered? 

Do they check random squirrels nationally??! What raised the suspicion about this squirrel? Such a bizarre story.  Bubonic plaque? What’s next?


This isn't the first squirrel to have the plague in Colorado. Fleas carry the plague and spread the disease to rodents. There are usually a few plague cases in the US each year. It's much more common in Mongolia. It's more transmissible to cats than to dogs, but keep your pets treated for fleas. It is treatable with antibiotics, but not everyone survives. I remember years ago, in 2002, a couple from New Mexico vacationed in New York and became ill with the plague. They were from a Santa Fe,  New Mexico, and this is where they contracted the disease.  They went hiking back home and contracted plague. The wife survived but I think the husband was hospitalized for months, even with aggressive treatment. He had a leg amputated as a result of his illness. If you see dead animals, alert your health department and stay away. Same thing goes for dead birds. They could have had West Nile Virus. 


From the Dept. of a Public Health there:

"There have been many stories circulating about the recent case of plague in a squirrel in Jefferson County. We want to provide some clarification and answer some questions we have received from the public and media. As always with public notices regarding animal-borne diseases — such as plague, tularemia and rabies — our purpose is to inform the community the disease is present in an animal population, so you can take necessary precautions to keep your family and pets safe.

  • Plague usually occurs somewhere in Colorado every year. This was the first case in Jefferson County since 2017.
  • The squirrel was tested after a citizen reported seeing more than a dozen dead squirrels in the area. We do not usually test individual dead animals for plague, but we are concerned and it is common procedure to test animals when there are large die-offs, such as in this case."
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,213
Registered: ‎03-30-2014

Re: Squirrel with bubonic plaque question

Evidently someone called in a lot of dead squirrels and they tested this one, or more?  Didn't hear if a squirrel can infect a human directly.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,783
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Squirrel with bubonic plaque question

Perhaps this will answer your questions.  Quite a few squirrels were found dead...

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/squirrels-bubonic-plague-colorado-test-positive/ 

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Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,736
Registered: ‎02-19-2014

Re: Squirrel with bubonic plaque question

Don't feed the squirrels, people.

 

It probably was acting strangely and looked strangely ill in a public place like a park. Bubonic plague has distinct physical symptoms. Maybe it had buboes on it. Poor little thing. Bubonic plague pops up occasionally. This isn't brand new, if that makes you feel better.

 

"Globally between 2010 and 2015 there were 3248 documented cases, which resulted in 584 deaths.[1] The countries with the greatest number of cases are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, and Peru.[1]

For over a decade since 2001, Zambia, India, Malawi, Algeria, China, Peru, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo had the most plague cases with over 1,100 cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone. From 1,000 to 2,000 cases are conservatively reported per year to the WHO.[20] From 2012 to 2017, reflecting political unrest and poor hygienic conditions, Madagascar began to host regular epidemics.[20]

Between 1900 and 2015, the United States had 1,036 human plague cases with an average of 9 cases per year. In 2015, 16 people in the Western United States developed plague, including 2 cases in Yosemite National Park.[21] These US cases usually occur in rural northern New Mexico, northern Arizona, southern Colorado, California, southern Oregon, and far western Nevada.[22]

In November 2017, the Madagascar Ministry of Health reported an outbreak to WHO (World Health Organization) with more cases and deaths than any recent outbreak in the country. Unusually most of the cases were pneumonic rather than bubonic.[23]

In June 2018, a child was confirmed to be the first person in Idaho to be infected by bubonic plague in nearly 30 years.[24]

A couple died in May 2019, in Mongolia, while hunting marmots.[25] Another two people in the province of Inner Mongolia, China were treated in November 2019 for the disease.[26]

In July 2020, in Bayannur, Inner Mongolia of China, a human case of bubonic plague was reported. Officials responded by activating a city-wide plague-prevention system for the remainder of the year.[27] Also in July 2020, in Mongolia, a teenager died from bubonic plague after consuming infected marmot meat.[28]"

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Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,510
Registered: ‎05-23-2010

Re: Squirrel with bubonic plaque question

[ Edited ]

@@Still Raining wrote:

Evidently someone called in a lot of dead squirrels and they tested this one, or more?  Didn't hear if a squirrel can infect a human directly.


@Still Raining How the plague is transmitted from the CDC.2CBCDAB6-E545-420F-89B0-B89D1E47468A.jpeg

HOW THE PLAGUE IS TRANSMITTED. CDC EXPLAINS.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjigvmzwNDqAhUK1qwKHSjdD74Q...

Honored Contributor
Posts: 69,397
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Squirrel with bubonic plaque question

The most common carrier of plague in New Mexico are prairie dogs, those cute little rodents that some people fight to protect.  We get a few cases every summer.  We also have the Hanta Virus which is contracted from the feces of deer mice.

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Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,842
Registered: ‎04-23-2010

Re: Squirrel with bubonic plaque question

Thank you, ladies! Interesting information.