Cluster of Plague Cases Confirmed in Colorado
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Creatas/Thinkstock(DENVER) — The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment identified three Colorado residents who have been infected with pneumonic plague.
Each of the residents reportedly had direct contact with a dog that recently died of plague. The initial patient, whose family owned the dog, remains hospitalized. Plague was identified in the dog on July 8, the CDPHE says.
Officials believe the dog had been exposed to the disease through a prairie dog or rabbit that carried plague-infected fleas.
The cluster of plague infections is the first in the United States since 1923.
Plague symptoms include fever, muscle pain, nausea and vomiting. Residents are urged not to handle any dead rodents, keep pets away from wildlife, treat pets for fleas and avoid feeding prairie dogs or other rodents.
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