Plague found in six counties in Colorado linked to death of 10-year-old

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment urges everyone to be careful with animals after mammalian plague and fleas are found in six counties and state recorded first death from disease since 2015.

The state did not release the full list of counties, but said La Plata was one of them. The 10-year-old who died of the plague earlier this month was a resident of La Plata County.

Plague is caused by bacteria and is usually spread through bites from infected fleas. Prairie dogs, squirrels, chipmunks and other rodents are often carriers of the fleas and infect themselves, so everyone should avoid approaching these animals, the health department said in A press release.

Colorado reported 22 human cases of plague from 2015 to 2020, according to the state’s health department. Almost half of the cases were in La Plata County, although at least one case has been reported in the past six years in Adams, Archuleta, Boulder, Denver, Grand, Larimer, Mesa and Pueblo.

Plague has a high death rate if left untreated, but antibiotics are effective against it, especially in the early stages. Symptoms include fever, headache, chills, and swollen lymph nodes. Less commonly, people may develop pneumonia-like symptoms or experience septic shock if the bacteria spread to the lungs or through the bloodstream.

If you notice prairie dogs or other rodents suddenly disappearing from an area where they have been seen before, call your local health department to check if plague may be circulating there. If the animals have the plague, the health department may need to close the area to people, as happened when prairie dogs were infected at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in 2019.

Other steps you can take to protect yourself:

• Do not kill prairie dogs on your property. This could force the fleas to search for new hosts, including pets or humans.
• Treat your pets with flea control products and don’t allow them in areas where wild rodents live
• If you have to go to an area where wild rodents live, use bug spray and tuck the cuffs of your pants into your socks.
• Do not handle or feed wild animals
• Do not touch sick or dead animals
• Keep rodents out of your home by removing plants and debris from exterior walls. Do not leave food where rodents can reach it and set up traps if necessary
• If fleas have taken up residence in your home, have them treated by a professional
• If your pet has a high fever, open sore, or swollen lymph nodes, call a veterinarian and take precautions. Infected animals can transmit the disease to humans.
• Explain the precautions to children, and that they should tell you if they have touched a wild animal or if they have been bitten by fleas