To: Indie; All
PLAGUE, RODENTS - USA (TEXAS)
{{Can Hanta be far behind?}}
Source: Texas Department of Health press release [edited]
Plague Identified in Rodents in West Texas, Panhandle
The Texas Department of Health (TDH) confirmed today that _Yersinia
pestis_, the bacterium that causes plague, has been detected in wood
rats found dead in a rural location near the Midland-Glasscock
counties border in West Texas and in fleas from wild prairie dogs in
Dallam County in the Texas Panhandle.
TDH zoonosis control officials said it is not unusual to have plague
in wild rodents in the western United States, including the western
part of Texas.
"Plague occasionally cycles through the wild rodent population,
sometimes causing large die-offs of rats, prairie dogs and other
rodents," said Tom Sidwa, acting director of TDH's zoonosis control
program, in Austin.
Plague is usually spread by fleas that have bitten an infected
rodent. The illness can be transmitted to dogs, cats and humans.
Plague in humans can be effectively treated with antibiotics if
detected early, Sidwa said. Infection also can occur by breathing in
respiratory droplets from a live animal that has the pneumonic form
of the illness.
The last recorded human case of plague in Texas was in 1993 in a Kent
County resident. An average of 13 human cases a year occur in the
United States.
TDH is issuing a plague advisory to veterinarians and physicians in
the West Texas, Panhandle and South Plains areas of the state and
reminding the public to take routine precautions to reduce the
chances of being bitten by an infected flea. The public is asked to
report large die-offs of rodents to public health officials.
Personal precautions include: removing food and shelter sources for
rodents around homes, work sites and recreational areas; using safe
insecticides to kill fleas around property; applying a
DEET-containing repellent to exposed skin and clothing when in
flea-inhabited areas, especially when camping or in other
rodent-inhabited areas; and treating pets with long-acting flea
control products.
TDH also advises wearing gloves if it's necessary to handle an animal
that could have plague. Because some rodents also carry hantavirus,
rodent nests in closed-in areas should be aired out before removal,
and any rodent nests and droppings should be wetted down with a 10
percent bleach - 90 percent water solution before removing.
The Texas Panhandle is the column of land that juts out in a
northerly direction from the rest of Texas. It borders New Mexico.
However, the western portion of New Mexico, on the other side of
state from the Texas Panhandle, has the highest prevalence of human
cases
To: JustPiper
'dog disease'?
3,082 posted on
05/08/2004 8:36:40 AM PDT by
WestCoastGal
("Hire paranoids, they may have a high false alarm rate, but they discover all the plots" Rumsfeld)
To: JustPiper
3,083 posted on
05/08/2004 8:44:22 AM PDT by
DAVEY CROCKETT
(There is no such thing as coincidence, GOD is in control.)
To: JustPiper
"TDH is issuing a plague advisory "
We won't hear this on the nightly news!
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