Colorado house cat tests positive for bubonic plague
- The bubonic plague is infamously recognized for inflicting the Black Demise.
- County well being officers mentioned people and pets can get the illness from contaminated flea bites and the cough of an contaminated animal.
- Individuals and pets ought to keep away from contact with wild rodents, consultants say.
A home cat examined optimistic for the bubonic plague in Colorado on the finish of October, well being officers say.
The optimistic cat was from Evergreen, lower than 20 miles southwest of Denver. Jefferson County well being officers mentioned its the primary case of the plague within the county this yr, and so they consider the animal obtained it from a sick rodent, doubtless a rat. The cat examined optimistic on Oct. 29.
“Whereas plague is a severe illness, and instances of animal-borne illness in family pets is rarely one thing we wish to see, it’s regular and anticipated for some animals to contract plague in Jefferson County annually,” Jim Rada, the director of environmental well being companies at Jefferson County Public Well being, said in a statement. “The excellent news is that fashionable antibiotics are efficient towards plague, and so long as it’s handled promptly, extreme problems, sickness or demise will be prevented.”
The bubonic plague is one in all three several types of plague, together with septicemic and pneumonic. The disease comes from the Yersinia pestis bacteria, which will be discovered all around the world and will be unfold via animals equivalent to rodents and people. The bubonic plague is infamously recognized for inflicting the Black Demise, which resulted in tens of millions of deaths in Europe, Africa and Asia in the course of the 1300s.
This is not the primary time Colorado has handled the plague this yr. In July, the state’s division of public well being and setting said the plague had been identified in animals and fleas in six counties. A 10-year-old resident died “from causes related to plague.”
Truth test: Bubonic plague case found in Inner Mongolia, China
Koalas: Chlamydia is rapidly spreading among Australia’s koalas. Now, they’re getting vaccinated.
County well being officers mentioned people and pets can get the illness from contaminated flea bites and the cough of an contaminated animal. Pets like cats and canine may also get it by consuming an contaminated rodent or choosing up an contaminated rodent with its mouth. Officers additionally mentioned cats are extra vulnerable to demise from the plague if they don’t seem to be given antibiotics instantly.
Issues folks can do to maintain themselves and their pets secure from the plague embrace eliminating pet and wild animal meals left exterior, eliminating exterior trash, utilizing flea management merchandise on pets and never immediately touching attainable contaminated animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The underside line is folks – and their pets – ought to keep away from contact with any species of untamed rodent, particularly ones which can be sick, dying or already useless,” Rada mentioned. “We all know that pets will be unpredictable, however there are issues pet homeowners can do to maintain their four-legged members of the family secure, particularly once they dwell near rodent populations equivalent to prairie canine colonies.”
Observe Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.