a CAUTION for WESTERN STATES pet owners

[johninny]

those of you who live in the affected western states probably know this already, but i just learned of it and wanted to pass this on as a precaution. [ from a vet's letter distributed by petMD, for which i do not have a lot of respect, but this letter seemed very straight-forward.]

bubonic plague has reached high levels in prairie dogs and has spread to other small animals and rodents - squirrels, rabbits, mice, etc. - that are more prevalent and mobile among human populations. travels mostly by direct contact with those animals - dead or alive - which is a red flag for a lot of our dogs, and, more so, by the fleas that have been resident on those infected animals. for emphasis, the vet points out that 4 PEOPLE have contracted the plague "THIS MONTH'' in Colorado [the vet's state], with 3 recovering well and one having more extensive hospitalization. infected pets have generally fared less well, providing the warning to treat their owners with preventive antibiotics, which those 4 people were not lucky enough to get.

be careful. keep your dog away from dead stuff and not killing mice. and try to keep flea free!
have not looked up early symptoms yet, but i certainly would if lived in affected areas which the letter was vague about.

[Dutchringgirl]

wow, thanks !

[johninny]

you are welcome.

thought it would be a good idea to check out early symptoms. the plague bacteria in question in the west manifests itself in one or more of 3 different ways, each of which is deadly if not treated. each of the 3 different ways it can present has a different name [ bubonic is one - indicating swollen lymph nodes ], but all 3 are the same bug, and each of the 3 can and probably will lead to the 2 other forms if not interrupted by treatment or death.

here is the link to the CDC's info [ which has obviously been getting a lot of traffic recently ]:
www.cdc.gov/plague/symptoms

[Raven]

Bubonic? Holy crap....