Article here. This is neither mundane, nor pointless. Be very careful with your pets, don’t let them near any rodents if you live in that area. I really hope they get this situation under control soon. It might not be uncommon there, but this is the first I’ve heard of it. If any Dopers living in that area has a better article, or updates please post them.
[QUOTE=The Denver Post]
An 8-year-old hooded capuchin monkey at the Denver Zoo was a victim of the bubonic- plague outbreak moving through the City Park neighborhood near the zoo.
Twenty-three animals - mostly tree squirrels - have tested positive for the disease out of 144 examined, said John Pape, epidemiologist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
“This disease has the potential to move to other animals,” Pape said. “We consider that risk to be low, but it still happens.”
No humans have contracted the disease this year, Pape said.
A monkey dying from plague, however, serves as a reminder that people should not handle rodents and should keep their pets away from dead squirrels or rabbits, Pape said.
<snip>
Ken Gage, chief of flea-borne diseases for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fort Collins, said plague is common for Colorado.
“You need to take plague seriously anytime it’s in an urban area,” he said.
The last time a plague outbreak occurred in Denver was in 1968 in the City Park area.
The last person in Colorado to die of plague was a 66-year-old Pueblo man hunting and skinning rabbits near Tarryall Reservoir in Park County who came down with the disease in 2004.
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