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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

Fleas in Arizona test positive for the PLAGUE

2017-08-14

[DailyMail] Fleas in two Arizona counties have tested positive for the plague, the same catastrophic Bubonic disease that killed millions, according to officials.

Navajo County Public Health officials confirmed on Friday that fleas in the region tested positive for the disease following similar reports from Coconino County Public Health Services District in Arizona.

Both are located in the northern part of the state.

'Navajo County Health Department is urging the public to take precautions to reduce their risk of exposure to this serious disease, which can be present in fleas, rodents, rabbits and predators that feed upon these animals,' the public health warning states.

Posted by:Skidmark

#15 The scourge of Yersinia pestis
Swept in from the desert to test us.
On tombstones was written,
"Here lies one fleabitten."
Well, thanks for the plague, and 'bye, Festus.

Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 2017-08-14 22:19

#14 Just stay away from McStain and you'll be fine.

Posted by: gorb 2017-08-14 18:27

#13

Posted by: 746 2017-08-14 17:37

#12 New mexico bats are often common carriers.

Posted by: borgboy 2017-08-14 12:37

#11 The CDC page on plague can be found here.

Plague is a disease that affects humans and other mammals. It is caused by the bacterium, Yersinia pestis. Humans usually get plague after being bitten by a rodent flea that is carrying the plague bacterium or by handling an animal infected with plague. Plague is infamous for killing millions of people in Europe during the Middle Ages. Today, modern antibiotics are effective in treating plague. Without prompt treatment, the disease can cause serious illness or death. Presently, human plague infections continue to occur in the western United States, but significantly more cases occur in parts of Africa and Asia.

Recommended antibiotic treatment for plague:

Begin appropriate IV therapy as soon as plague is suspected. Gentamicin and fluoroquinolones are typically first-line treatments in the United States. Duration of treatment is 10 to 14 days, or until 2 days after fever subsides. Oral therapy may be substituted once the patient improves.

Posted by: trailing wife 2017-08-14 11:37

#10 Even if you caught the plague wouldn't modern medicine help just a little? Only if your caretaker was aware of this possibility & acted in time. It is possible to contract the plague in NM while driving cross country, and then show up in an Atlanta ER with the usual vague symptoms. Per Wiki: "Patients will die without early treatment, some within 36 hours." A very long time ago, I worked at a NM hospital. The only plague patient we had that year was a child missed on the first vision by a specialist in pediatric infectious illness, who just happened to have the ER job that night. He even thought of plague as a possibility, but dismissed it. Within 24 hours the child was back, got the right treatment & survived.

Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2017-08-14 11:34

#9 Yea, they have plenty of antibiotics that work well against plague and they even have immunizations. We had a series of 3 plague shots we got in the military. Those really fucked me up. Felt like I got a really bad flu for 3 days each time.

Posted by: DarthVader 2017-08-14 10:41

#8 Rj, there would be no news if they couldn't fear monger.

Posted by: chris 2017-08-14 10:38

#7 Even if you caught the plague wouldn't modern medicine help just a little? Seems bringing up the "catastrophic Bubonic disease that killed millions" is more than a little over the top.

Posted by: rjschwarz 2017-08-14 10:32

#6 The coyotes had a hard time of it and left after invading the neighborhood looking for food and eating a few small dogs.

Heh. Every week there seems to be a new posting for a lost pet on the exit from the development out here in the sticks. Seems the urbanites don't grasp the connection of country living and feeding the local indigenous species.

Posted by: Procopius2k 2017-08-14 10:20

#5 Here in Colorado a group of prairie dogs gets a positive test every year. One year it hit the open space behind my sister's house and wiped them all out. The coyotes had a hard time of it and left after invading the neighborhood looking for food and eating a few small dogs. The bald eagle population that was there moved away too as there was no food source for them.

Been 5 years and the prairie dog still haven't come back.

Posted by: DarthVader 2017-08-14 10:14

#4 Simple precautions include wearing long pants outside urban areas and avoiding dead animals. Certainly keeps the infection rate down to a handful. Posted by: Procopius2k

Arizona US Senators please disregard.

Posted by: Besoeker 2017-08-14 09:41

#3 Prairie dogs, and, in this case, likely squirrels. The animals have to be big enough not to immediately die, so larger than mice or chipmunks. We get it occasionally in east San Diego County mountains

Posted by: Frank G on the Road 2017-08-14 09:30

#2 I seem to see 'new' warning signs posted almost every time we travel to prairie dog areas, so P2K is correct.

Just take some precautions as so noted above.

Posted by: Mullah Richard 2017-08-14 09:13

#1 Big Friggn Deal. Always a handful of cases in New Mexico every year. One of the unofficial mottos of the state is "Land of Flea, Home of the Plague". Because the medical establishment is aware and the health authorities have procedures and protocols, neighboring state tend to dump victim on them, usually too late in the process, so the state gets the death count.

Simple precautions include wearing long pants outside urban areas and avoiding dead animals. Certainly keeps the infection rate down to a handful.

Posted by: Procopius2k 2017-08-14 08:58

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