Plague

Plague, a disease of rodents transmitted by fleas, is widespread in the western United States. The epidemic form of the disease has been known since antiquity for the devastation caused by world-sweeping outbreaks such as the "Black Death" in the Middle Ages. Today, improved sanitation practices and rat control have reduced the threat of epidemics in developed countries. Nevertheless, plague is firmly entrenched among wild rodents in North America and individual cases continue to occur among humans exposed to these animals and their fleas.   In Colorado, local health departments and county environmental health officers have training in plague surveillance and control. Their agencies should be contacted whenever your observations, especially large-scale rodent die-offs, arouse suspicions about this disease.

 Resources for the Public

• Facts About Plague        

• Centers for Disease Control- Plague Home Page

Resources for Health Care Professionals

• Guidelines for Emergency Departments and Health Care Providers          

• Management, Diagnosis and Treatment of Suspected Feline Plague             

Resources for Public Health Professionals

• Colorado Communicable Disease Manual

   

Data and Statistics

• Tables

  • Plague positive specimens by species, 2011         

    • Previous Years:     2010     2009    2008     2007    2006     2005                                                       

  • Plague positive specimens by county and species, excluding wild mammal serology, 2011              

    • Previous Years:     2010    2009    2008      2007     2006                                                           

• Maps

  • Plague Positive Animals:    2006       2005      2004           

  • Time elapsed presentation- plague positive animals 2005                          

• Charts

  • Human plague cases, 1975 - 2005                 

  • Animal species implicated in transmission of plague to human 1957-2005