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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGirl Catches Bubonic Plague From Squirrel
A seven-year-old girl in Colorado is recovering from bubonic plague, the illness that caused the Black Death and wiped out up to 60% of Europe's population in the 14th century.
Sierra Jane Downing became ill after trying to bury a dead squirrel while on a camping trip with her family in Colorado.
She developed a 107 F (41.67 C) fever and had a seizure, prompting her frightened father to rush her to a hospital where she was stabilised before being flown to Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children.
Dr Jennifer Snow, the paediatrician who treated Sierra, said the child's unusual symptoms were puzzling.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/girl-catches-bubonic-plague-squirrel-024949496.html
xchrom
(108,903 posts)Viva_La_Revolution
(28,791 posts)a man was trying to take a rodent away from his cat, and the cat bit him. He lost most of his fingers and toes
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48233198/ns/health-infectious_diseases/t/oregon-man-recovering-bubonic-plague/#.UEi06ZbcVD4
iamthebandfanman
(8,127 posts)i love squirrels...
i gleefully yell 'squirreler!' every time i encounter one..
*sigh*
cant even enjoy squirrelers any more. sheesh.
dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)Once upon a time we only had reds in the UK. US greys got in and more or less completely screwed the red population here.
iamthebandfanman
(8,127 posts)i think..maybe some grey ones too..
now that i know what a red one looks like exactly, ill keep on the look out..
i think they are super amusing to watch and go out of my way to get them (and rabbits) away from roads
dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)One of our beer adverts from years ago.
I'd always thought they gathered up nuts for the winter and stored them in one place. That was until I watched them in my garden, back yard to you, burying them individually. I get hazel trees growing here there and everywhere.
Viva_La_Revolution
(28,791 posts)2 years ago we saw one occasionally, now this year we have at least one breeding pair in the yard I thought they were chipmunks when I first saw them.. so cute, but LOUD when they start chattering at the cats. they are North American Douglas Squirrels and as long as we feed the grey squirrels a few peanuts they seem to leave the little guys alone.
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)IMO, the low number of cases in the US despite it's wide presence should be more reassuring rather than alarming.
darkangel218
(13,985 posts)byeya
(2,842 posts)dies of bubonic plague. It's carried by the fleas which live on mammals.
I was part of a study and collected ground squirrels, froze the carcasses, and shipped them to a
federal lab. Most of the fleas carried plague.
I am surprised that more people don't die from it in the arid west.
treestar
(82,383 posts)"Certainly, if you get the appropriate treatment early enough, the mortality rate can be low but there's such a short time frame and a short window of opportunity you have to do that and that was the key," said Dr Snow.