Wyoming has recently seen four cases of plague in cats. There haven't been any other feline cases for twenty years. There have been five cases of plague in humans since 1978.

"I think this is just going to be the tip of the iceberg," [Gus Lopez, director of the Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department] said. "And what really concerns me is these cases with cats right now really increase the risk of human exposure."

That's because handling infected animals is much riskier than simply being exposed to infected fleas. In the five recorded human cases since 1978 in Wyoming, each had handled an infected animal, Gage said.

An infected cat might bring infected fleas into a home; it might also infect people by biting, scratching or coughing.

"That's very, very dangerous, because the disease progresses very rapidly in that situation," Gage said.

He makes it sound terribly serious, but the CDC are reassuring.

"Getting four of them in southern Wyoming in a short period of time is unusual," said Ken Gage of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fort Collins, Colo. "It's not cause for panic, or anything, but it is cause for some concern."

Kev1n

Newark, DE

March 2004

JUL 10, 2005 07:10 PM

oh, yes,
quite reassuring.

-k

StarBelliedBoy

Philadelphia, PA

December 2003

JUL 10, 2005 07:14 PM

I'm terrified. they say FIVE recorded cases since 1978??? My stars, I'm hiding in the bomb shelter til the apocalypse warms over!

pygmy

Portland, OR

July 2004

JUL 10, 2005 07:18 PM

"plague" is very inspecific. The article doesn't even say bubonic plague.

robosagogo

State College, PA

September 2004

JUL 10, 2005 07:23 PM

StarBelliedBoy said:
I'm terrified. they say FIVE recorded cases since 1978??? My stars, I'm hiding in the bomb shelter til the apocalypse warms over!

A local cat was diagnosed with plague Friday - the fourth in southern Wyoming this year - and public health officials warned that people should take precautions to protect their pets and themselves.

Isn't bird flu supposed to kill like 1/3 of the population anyway, or is that not a worry anymore?

[Edited on Jul 10, 2005 by robosagogo]

Renfield7

Westminster, MD

December 2004

JUL 10, 2005 07:38 PM

I'll show you in spring
It's a treacherous thing
We missed you hissed the Plaguecats!

Ba ba-da...da da da da da...

dholokov

Toronto, ON

April 2003

JUL 10, 2005 07:39 PM

Renfield7 said:
I'll show you in spring
It's a treacherous thing
We missed you hissed the Plaguecats!

Ba ba-da...da da da da da...

you beat me by like 2 minutes.

Renfield7

Westminster, MD

December 2004

JUL 10, 2005 07:43 PM

lol sorry

Nixon

SUICIDEGIRL

California, USA

JUL 10, 2005 07:53 PM

Interesting fact: There aremore rodents infected with bubonic plague in the US currently than there were in Europe at the timeof the Black Death. Oddly, the vast majority of them are prarie dogs.

malkav11

Saint Paul, MN

July 2003

JUL 10, 2005 08:02 PM

So, basically, prairie states are bad places to be. Doh.

LordAuch

Los Angeles, CA

April 2005

JUL 10, 2005 08:10 PM

There is alot of plague in New Mexico and Arizona on the Hopi and Navaho reservations. It shows up frequently in the residents there. It shows up in the southwest, the mild winters provide a good habitat for rodents and flees to survive the winter. It is easily treated with modern antibiotics.

naulite

Kingman, AZ

June 2005

JUL 10, 2005 08:16 PM

Exploding Varmints

All we need is a little more varmint control and we'll all be good to go.

monkeybuttt

Los Angeles, CA

June 2005

JUL 10, 2005 08:17 PM

i'm scared of everything
i stay
indoors
i listen to what the men say
on the television
and in the papers
and i do what i'm told.

BlastProcessing

USA

OLD SKOOL

JUL 10, 2005 08:37 PM

If you kill twelve of them and mail their ears to the Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department, they'll send you a nice set of gloves and a recipe for Plague Cat Soup.

PaulNikon

Palm Bay, FL

February 2003

JUL 10, 2005 08:40 PM

The ground squirrels in California have plague too.

ChezGeek

Port Orchard, WA

January 2004

JUL 10, 2005 08:49 PM

i bet it was that fucking ugly dog...

SusannahJoy

HOPEFUL

Bakersfield, CA

JUL 10, 2005 09:10 PM

PaulNikon said:
The ground squirrels in California have plague too.

yup. they have to close the local mountain parks cuz of that almost every year. a few years ago some hermit died from it.

photoline

Edmonton, AB

January 2005

JUL 10, 2005 09:31 PM

ChezGeek

Port Orchard, WA

January 2004

JUL 10, 2005 09:41 PM

^best cat pic ever.

Redmetal

Seattle, WA

January 2005

JUL 10, 2005 09:54 PM

knowing wyomming i'm not surprised.

Wyomming is the butthole of the nation. Well, sans-yellowstone and a few other places, but really wyomming sucks.

Synth

Cheyenne, WY

January 2004

JUL 10, 2005 10:14 PM

if its not the butthole, you can sure see it from here

although i can't help but feel special that my town is in the news >_>;;

sunheart

Salem, OR

April 2005

JUL 11, 2005 02:16 AM

Furious_Dsaid

If you kill twelve of them and mail their ears to the Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department, they'll send you a nice set of gloves and a recipe for Plague Cat Soup.

LOL!! Yeah but dont forget you have to kill 100 to gather 12 ears. For some reason theres alot of earless cats.

[Edited on Jul 11, 2005 2:18AM]

MrStitches

Brooklyn, NY

November 2003

JUL 11, 2005 07:59 PM

Is there a cure for the plague or no?

mistressmissy

Grand Rapids, MI

March 2003

JUL 11, 2005 08:03 PM

poor kitties

NinjaTech

Minneapolis, MN

November 2003

JUL 12, 2005 08:20 AM

MrStitches said:
Is there a cure for the plague or no?

Yes. That is why this isn't really that big of a deal. People die from the plague all the fucking time. It is simply third worlders who can't afford vaccination and are rarely missed by first world venture capitalists such as ourselves.

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June 2004

JUL 09, 2005 09:55 PM

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robosagogo

State College, PA

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Westminster, MD

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Westminster, MD

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California, USA

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Los Angeles, CA

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USA

OLD SKOOL

JUL 10, 2005 08:37 PM

Palm Bay, FL

February 2003

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Port Orchard, WA

January 2004

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SusannahJoy

HOPEFUL

Bakersfield, CA

JUL 10, 2005 09:10 PM

Edmonton, AB

January 2005

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Port Orchard, WA

January 2004

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Seattle, WA

January 2005

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January 2004

JUL 10, 2005 10:14 PM

Salem, OR

April 2005

JUL 11, 2005 02:16 AM

Brooklyn, NY

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