![]() The plague persists in nature by infecting wild rodents-including mice, rats, squirrels, chipmunks, groundhogs, and prairie dogs-and their fleas. ![]() Tufts Now: What is the plague, and who is at risk?įelicia Nutter: The plague is a serious infectious disease caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. Tufts Now spoke with Nutter about the ancient disease, who’s still at risk, and how to protect yourself and your pets. ![]() The plague has never left-it has been here all along, even in the United States-and it can usually be treated with antibiotics, so long as it is properly diagnosed. “When you hear about the plague, you may think of the Black Death-the epidemic estimated to have killed 50 million people or more during the 1300s,” said Cummings School assistant professor Felicia Nutter, V93.īut there’s no need to panic, said Nutter, a board-certified wildlife veterinarian and epidemiologist. With pandemic anxiety at a worldwide high because of COVID-19, the last thing anyone wants to see in the news is word of another plague-especially the plague, which has recently been reported in people in China and Mongolia and, closer to home, in a squirrel in Colorado. ![]()
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