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Fleas test positive for the plague in parts of Arizona
www.azfamily.com ^ | Updated: Aug 14, 2017 3:30 AM CST | Staff

Posted on 08/14/2017 1:51:58 PM PDT by Red Badger

TAYLOR, Ariz. (3TV/CBS5) — Health officials are urging people to take precautions after a second Arizona county in two weeks confirmed that fleas in the area have tested positive for plague.

The announcement by Navajo County Public Health officials on Friday comes one week after Coconino County officials found prairie dogs in the area to be carrying fleas with the plague -- the infectious disease infamous for killing millions of Europeans in the Middle Ages.

The fleas in Navajo County were found near the town of Taylor.

Health officials have notified the residents whose property will be treated. The area will be closely monitored to determine if further action is required.

People are advised to take certain measures to reduce the risk of exposure to this serious disease, which can be present in fleas, rodents, rabbits and predators that feed on these animals.

The disease can be transmitted to humans and other animals by the bite of an infected flea or by direct contact with an infected animal.

To limit possible exposure, people are encouraged to avoid rodent burrows and keep dogs on a leash as required by Arizona state law. An abundance of active prairie dogs doesn’t indicate the disease is present.

However, a sudden die-off of prairie dogs and rodents may be an indicator of plague. Persons noticing a sudden die-off of rodents or rabbits are urged to contact the Navajo County Health Department.

Symptoms of plague in humans generally appear within two to six days following exposure and include the following: fever, chills, headache, weakness, muscle pain, and swollen lymph glands (called “buboes”) in the groin, armpits or limbs.

The disease can become septicemic (spreading throughout the bloodstream) and/or pneumonic (affecting the lungs), but is curable with proper antibiotic therapy if diagnosed and treated early.

Persons living, working, camping or visiting in areas where plague and/or rodents are known to be present are urged to take the following precautions to reduce their risk of exposure:

Do not handle sick or dead animals. Prevent pets from roaming loose. Pets can pick up the infected fleas of wild animals, and then pass fleas on to their human owners. This is one of the common ways for humans to contract plague. Cats with plague can also pass the disease on to humans directly thorough respiratory droplets. De-flea pets routinely. Contact your veterinarian for specific recommendations. Avoid rodent burrows and fleas. Use insect repellents when visiting or working in areas where plague might be active or rodents might be present (campers, hikers, woodcutters and hunters). Wear rubber gloves and other protection when cleaning and skinning wild animals. Do not camp next to rodent burrows and avoid sleeping directly on the ground. Be aware that cats are highly susceptible to this disease and while they can get sick from a variety of illnesses, a sick cat (especially one allowed to run at large outside) should receive care by a veterinarian for proper diagnosis and treatment to reduce human exposure to plague.

In case of illness see your physician immediately as treatment with antibiotics is very effective.

More information is available at https://www.cdc.gov/plague/.

Copyright 2017 KPHO/KTVK (KPHO Broadcasting Corporation)


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Arizona; US: New Mexico
KEYWORDS: bubonic; epidemic; fleas; infectious; plague; prairiedogs; publichealth; rodents; wildlife
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1 posted on 08/14/2017 1:51:58 PM PDT by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger

Another plague from Arizona. Pity.

TC


2 posted on 08/14/2017 1:53:32 PM PDT by Pentagon Leatherneck
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To: Red Badger

May one fly up John NcCain’s nose!


3 posted on 08/14/2017 1:55:20 PM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress (http://www.baptistbiblebelievers.com/BYTOPICS/tabid/335/Default.aspx D)
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To: Pentagon Leatherneck

4 posted on 08/14/2017 1:55:24 PM PDT by Red Badger (Road Rage lasts 5 minutes. Road Rash lasts 5 months!.....................)
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To: Pentagon Leatherneck
First McCain, then Napolitano, then Flake, now the Black Death.

But seriously, it's summer and with the monsoon comes the plague - 3 or 4 cases a year. No epidemic yet.

5 posted on 08/14/2017 2:11:25 PM PDT by InABunkerUnderSF (Dump Flake)
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To: Pilgrim's Progress; Pentagon Leatherneck
Alexandre Yersin, who isolated the plague pathogen and for which it is named- Yersinia Pestis, was a French bacteriologist who wound up in Nha Trang, Việt Nam. He had done some exploration in the country and fell in love with it. The Vietnamese, even the Communists, revere him and there are more streets named for him than for any other non ancient figure other than Hồ Chi Minh. The hospital he founded in NT is the equal of the best hospitals in the world. His grave is in the forest in a cleared and carefully tended spot in Khánh Hòa and is a lay pilgrimage site for many.
6 posted on 08/14/2017 2:11:32 PM PDT by ThanhPhero
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To: Red Badger

Been that way for 30 years.


7 posted on 08/14/2017 2:13:03 PM PDT by discostu (Things are in their place, The heavens are secure, The whole thing explodes in my face)
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To: ThanhPhero

About twenty years ago I knew an medical doctor from Turkey who was then in his 80s. He told me that he had treated cases of Bubonic Plague and Smallpox.


8 posted on 08/14/2017 2:27:30 PM PDT by PUGACHEV
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To: Red Badger
New Mexico, we're #1!
9 posted on 08/14/2017 2:31:26 PM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: Red Badger

Wage Slave Steve: “I’m a little under the weather, Bob, but I’ll be in later.”
Boss Bob: “Whatcha got Steve?”
Steve: “Just a touch of Black Death.”
Bob: “Take the rest of the summer off, Steve.”


10 posted on 08/14/2017 2:32:27 PM PDT by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: all armed conservatives)
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To: Tijeras_Slim

One in Chicago?......................


11 posted on 08/14/2017 2:34:08 PM PDT by Red Badger (Road Rage lasts 5 minutes. Road Rash lasts 5 months!.....................)
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To: discostu

Can’t they use D-con?...................


12 posted on 08/14/2017 2:34:44 PM PDT by Red Badger (Road Rage lasts 5 minutes. Road Rash lasts 5 months!.....................)
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To: Red Badger

Lots of rats there, gotta go with the percentages.


13 posted on 08/14/2017 2:38:13 PM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: Red Badger

Geeze! First McCain and now this! How will they tell them apart?


14 posted on 08/14/2017 2:40:52 PM PDT by Afterguard (Deplorable me!)
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To: Red Badger

Trying to D-con whole mountains would probably be cost prohibitive. Cheaper to just put up signs saying “if you experience flu like symptoms within a couple of weeks of being here, go immediately to your doctor and tell them you have The Plague”. Luckily modern medicine makes it not that big a deal, assuming you actually go to your doctor of course.


15 posted on 08/14/2017 2:41:58 PM PDT by discostu (Things are in their place, The heavens are secure, The whole thing explodes in my face)
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To: Red Badger
One in Chicago?......................

That was a researcher at UChicago back in 2009.

I haven't been following the Northwestern murder case lately very closely, but the professor involved was another bubonic plague researcher.

16 posted on 08/14/2017 2:46:34 PM PDT by x
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To: Tijeras_Slim
Historical Review: Megadrought And Megadeath In 16th Century Mexico (Hemorrhagic Fever)

"The epidemic of cocoliztli from1545 to 1548 killed an estimated 5 million to 15 million people, or up to 80% of the native population of Mexico (Figure 1). In absolute and relative terms the 1545 epidemic was one of the worst demographic catastrophes in human history, approaching even the Black Death of bubonic plague, which killed approximately 25 million in western Europe from 1347 to 1351 or about 50% of the regional population."

"The cocoliztli epidemic from 1576 to 1578 cocoliztli epidemic killed an additional 2 to 2.5 million people, or about 50% of the remaining native population."

17 posted on 08/14/2017 3:13:39 PM PDT by blam
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To: Red Badger

Poor fleas caught it from biting McPain.


18 posted on 08/14/2017 3:14:17 PM PDT by bgill (CDC site, "We don't know how people are infected with Ebola.")
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To: discostu
Good advice. Out here the doctors know what to look for, even so the occasional death occurs. Other places plague seems medieval, so they don't know. A few years back a couple from Santa Fe were in NYC and the husband had contracted it before going. The docs there didn't have a clue and he ended up losing some limbs.
19 posted on 08/14/2017 3:18:14 PM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: Red Badger

Manuel,have you ever heard of the bubonic plague....

20 posted on 08/14/2017 3:25:58 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative (ObamaCare Works For Those Who Don't.)
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