LA PLATA COUNTY, Colo. (KKTV) – A mass die-off of prairie dogs in a Colorado county has health officials concerned that it could be the plague.
La Plata County Public Health Department (LPCPH) announced Monday that it was investigating several once-active prairie dog colonies where there was now little to no activity detected.
While for many, the word “plague” conjures up images of plague doctors and the “Bring Out Your Dead” scene from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” the scourge of 14th century Europe remains alive and thriving in 21st century America.
But unlike the time of the Black Death, in modern times the plague is highly manageable if caught and treated early.
The plague bacterium — commonly bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic — can be transmitted by fleas and wild rodents, so animal die-offs like what is suspected in La Plata County with the prairie dogs can be a huge red flag that the plague is present.
“Plague is frequently detected in rock squirrels, prairie dogs, wood rats, and other species of ground squirrels and chipmunks,” LPCPH said.
“It’s often caused due to fleas and so fleas can be carried on animals such as rodents, prairie dogs, our pets like dogs and cats, and then when [animals] come around humans, when we interact with them, [fleas] will jump off and they will bite the individual and then that’s how the individual will get plague,” a health official explained to 11 News last year.
LPCPH said it first became aware of the prairie dog die-off in August. To date, no confirmed testing has been done, but the department’s observations at the colonies over the last several weeks led it to release its concerns to the public Monday.
“Public health staff conducted an onsite investigation leading to suspicion of plague presence in the area,” it said in a news release. “… There may be additional plague exposures in public areas and on private land that we are not yet aware of.”
The health department is advising the public not to take matters into its own hands.
“Residents should not eradicate or kill prairie dogs on their property as this increases the risk of exposure to plague-infested fleas.”
Instead, it advises people to adhere to the following guidelines:
– Wear repellant and appropriate clothing when outdoors.
– Keep pets away from wildlife and protected from fleas with veterinarian-approved topical medications, flea collars, or other methods of prevention.
– Avoid sleeping alongside your pets.
– Do not feed or handle wild animals.
– Do not handle dead animals or animal waste.
– Treat known rodent sites around your home with flea powder or a suitable insecticide.
Symptoms of plague include sudden fever and chills, severe headaches, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, and feeling ill. Plague can be treated successfully with antibiotics, but an infected person must be treated quickly to avoid serious complications or death.
Since pets can contract the plague and pass it on to their humans, the health department says to alert your veterinarian immediately if your pet becomes ill with a high fever and/or an abscess or swollen lymph nodes.
Most human cases of the plague in the United States occur in western states: California, southern Oregon, western Neasa, northern New Mexico, northern Arizona and southern Colorado.
No human cases of the plague have been reported in Colorado this year. There was a confirmed case in Pueblo County last year; before that, a 10-year-old girl in La Plata County sadly became one of the rare modern-day fatalities when she died of the plague in 2021.
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