Colorado plague case reported; health officials investigate | Health

State and local health officials are investigating and monitoring plague activity in southwestern Colorado after one person was infected in Montezuma County this month.

Officials said the plague exposure likely occurred on private property.

Plague is caused by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis, which can be transmitted to humans when bitten by infected fleas or by direct contact with infected animals. Animals susceptible to plague include squirrels, wood rats, and prairie dogs.

Officials from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Montezuma County Public Health Department said the risk to the public is low, but Coloradans should take steps to protect themselves, from especially since the risk of contracting animal diseases increases during the summer months, when humans and animals are in close contact.

Symptoms of the plague are similar to those of the flu – fever, headache, weakness, muscle aches, cough, shortness of breath and chills, and sometimes people also develop swollen and painful lymph nodes – but they are more serious, some people coughing up blood and rapidly developing pneumonia.

Officials said anyone with these symptoms who may have been exposed to rodents or fleas should seek medical attention immediately.

Health officials said Coloradans should avoid fleas, keep pets away from wild rodent habitats, avoid areas where wild rodents live, and not touch sick or dead animals.

Officials said children should tell adults immediately if they have come into contact with a wild animal or been bitten by fleas.