The plague tracked in Denver
|
|
|
|
|
DENVER, May 11 Denver officials warned people to stay away from squirrels as they monitored what could be an outbreak of the plague.Fifteen squirrels and one rabbit have tested positive for the plague, which is typically transmitted by flea bites, The Denver Post reported. Most of the animals were from the Denver City Park area.Denver has not had an outbreak of the plague since 1968.The state Health Department set up a hotline for people to call about dead squirrels, and the officials in Boulder closed a park to test a prairie dog town, the Post reported."We are still trying to determine how widespread it is," state epidemiologist John Pape told the Post. "I wouldn't apply the term 'outbreak' to this," he told the newspaper. "We normally see this kind of rodent die-off where plague is occurring, and it just happens to be occurring in Denver this year." The Post said Colorado is one of a handful of states where the plague bacterium, which killed 25 million Europeans in the Middle Ages, occurs.The plague kills 1,000 to 2,000 people every year worldwide, including about 18 in the United States.Copyright 2007 by UPI
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related News
Deep ocean census finds jumbo Dumbo and oil-drilling worms
Washington - Marine scientists have identified 17,650 species in ocean depths so far down that light no longer penetrates, according to the newest update in the years-long census of marine life released Sunday. The oddest...
New 'transition' dinosaur species discovered in South Africa
Johannesburg - South African palaeontologists on Wednesday announced the discovery of a new species of transition dinosaur that straddles the divide between the four-legged giant plant-eating sauropods and their bipedal carnivorous predecessors. Th...
Anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss dies at age 100
Paris - Anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, widely considered one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century, has died at age 100, the Academie Francaise said Tuesday. Levi-Strauss, who would have turned 101 on November 28, died early Sun...
British scientists thrilled at 'sea monster' discovery on coast
London - British scientists said Tuesday they were excited at the discovery of the fossilised skull of a giant sea monster in a scenic region of south-west Britain known as the Jurassic Coast. Dorset county council said the fossil comes from a plio...
Disgraced South Korean clone scientist gets 2-year term - Summary
Seoul- A South Korean scientist initially hailed as a cloning pioneer and national hero was handed a two-year suspended sentence Monday for embezzling research money after an investigation uncovered faked research into cloning human embryonic stem ce...
Disgraced South Korean cloning researcher found guilty
Seoul - The South Korean scientist initially hailed as a cloning pioneer and national hero until an investigation found some faked research into cloning human embryonic stem cells was convicted Monday of embezzling research grants. Hwang Woo Suk, 56,...
Bokova elected first woman UNESCO director-general - Summary
Paris - Bulgarian diplomat Irina Bokova was Thursday officially elected the first woman director-general of UNESCO, the Paris-based scientific and cultural organization said late Thursday. The 57-year-old Bokova was overwhelmingly confirmed by a vote...
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
that would be bubonic plague.
By:
anon ,
Sat, 12 May 2007 19:07:28 GMT
|
|
it is endemic in the prairie dog populations in colorado.
|
|
There's some journalism there, huh?
By:
Mr. Anon E. Mouse ,
Fri, 11 May 2007 17:46:47 GMT
|
|
Exactly, which plague? Come on, folks...
|
|
|
|
|
