A July 12 news release from the Jefferson County Public Health Department reported: “On Saturday, July 11, 2020, a squirrel found in the Town of Morrison tested positive for bubonic plague. The squirrel is the first case of plague in the county this year.”
The bacteria that causes plague, Yersinia pestis, cycles between rodents and their fleas and occurs primarily in the western U.S. Many types of animals, such as squirrels, rats, prairie dogs, chipmunks, mice, voles, and rabbits can be affected. Wild carnivores can become infected by eating other infected animals.
Plague can be transmitted to humans from wildlife though flea bites or contact with contaminated tissues or fluids from infected animals,
