May 4, 2007 9:32 am US/Mountain
Plague Killed Squirrel In Jefferson County
Health Experts Say There's Little Threat To Humans
by Paul Day
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) ―
Health officials reports that 14 squirrels have died from the plague in the Denver metro area in recent weeks. The latest case was discovered in Jefferson County near Chatfield and Wadsworth.
Surveillance has increased in Denver's City Park after three squirrels and a rabbit were found dead from the plague there.
Experts said there are no major concerns for people, although fleas can transmit the potentially deadly disease to people.
"We see very few spillovers into humans," said John Pape of the State Health Department. "We don't see a lot of human cases. We've never had a situation where we've had hundreds of human cases like we had with West Nile Virus."
Images of advanced plague in humans can be gruesome. But experts said those cases are rare and happen only when individuals fail to seek treatment in a timely fashion.
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