Plague Squirrel Found in Denver

Via ProMED-mail: the Colorado Department of Public Health reports a squirrel die-off near City Park. Only one dead squirrel was tested and it came back positive for plague.

John Pape, an epidemiologist who specializes in animal-related diseases for the department's Disease Control and Environmental Epidemiology Division, said, "Plague is a disease seen every year among rodent populations in rural areas of Colorado, including the Front Range. It is unusual to find plague in the center of an urban area although it has happened before."

ProMED-mail cites a 1970 publication claiming that a previous plague epizootic in Denver squirrels was discovered in 1968 only after it had led to a human plague case.