Bill Kiene semi-retired
07-22-2011, 08:16 PM
I got this in an email today and did not know if it was important or not so here it is:
__________________________________________________ _____________________
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Plague and Vector-borne Disease Epizootics in California
This is a notice for all R5 personnel.
Plague is a disease of wild rodents that can be transmitted to humans through the bite of infected fleas. The California Department of Health Services Vector-Borne Disease Section oversees a statewide surveillance program for plague. Each year, plague is identified in wild rodents and carnivores throughout California. Preliminary surveillance data for 2006 to date suggest that plague activity may be significantly higher this year. Two cases of human plague, in residents of Kern and Los Angeles County, have been diagnosed in the past six months. Evidence of plague has also been identified in squirrels, rabbits, coyotes, and feral pigs in several counties: Kern, Mariposa, et al.
VBDS wishes to alert your staff to the possibility of an unusually active year for plague. Because plague is most common in wild rodent populations in the Sierra Nevada and other California ranges, many of which encompass USFS lands, employees of and visitors to our National Forests are at particular risk of disease. It is our hope that your staff and personnel will be made aware of the elevated concern at the state level, and USFS R5 personnel will be more alert to evidence of an epizootic event. R5 employees should be aware of the following indicators that may suggest an increased disease exposure risk:
• Dead or dying animals without evidence of obvious injury (e.g. not road kill).
• Sudden absence of rodent activity where it had previously been obvious or common place.
• Numerous rodent burrows that are “full of flies” and smell “bad” or are flea infested at the mouth of the burrow.
If you observe any of these incidents in or around campgrounds, USFS work stations, or living quarters, please contact your local or county health department. In addition, the CDHS Vector-Borne Disease Section may be contacted at the following:
Northern California: Six Rivers, Klamath, Modoc, Shasta-Trinity, Lassen, Plumas and Mendocino.
Please contact Charlie Smith (530) 225-2130, or Larry Bronson (530) 225-2071
Central California: Tahoe, LTBMU, Eldorado, Stanislaus, Sierra.
Please contact Mark Novak, Jim Tucker, Marieta Braks or Jonathan Kwan (916) 686-8414.
Southern and Coastal California: Los Padres, Inyo, Sequoia, Angeles, San Bernardino and Cleveland.
Please contact Renjie Hu or Joe Burns (909) 937-3447, or Dick Davis (805) 929-5377
.
__________________________________________________ _____________________
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Plague and Vector-borne Disease Epizootics in California
This is a notice for all R5 personnel.
Plague is a disease of wild rodents that can be transmitted to humans through the bite of infected fleas. The California Department of Health Services Vector-Borne Disease Section oversees a statewide surveillance program for plague. Each year, plague is identified in wild rodents and carnivores throughout California. Preliminary surveillance data for 2006 to date suggest that plague activity may be significantly higher this year. Two cases of human plague, in residents of Kern and Los Angeles County, have been diagnosed in the past six months. Evidence of plague has also been identified in squirrels, rabbits, coyotes, and feral pigs in several counties: Kern, Mariposa, et al.
VBDS wishes to alert your staff to the possibility of an unusually active year for plague. Because plague is most common in wild rodent populations in the Sierra Nevada and other California ranges, many of which encompass USFS lands, employees of and visitors to our National Forests are at particular risk of disease. It is our hope that your staff and personnel will be made aware of the elevated concern at the state level, and USFS R5 personnel will be more alert to evidence of an epizootic event. R5 employees should be aware of the following indicators that may suggest an increased disease exposure risk:
• Dead or dying animals without evidence of obvious injury (e.g. not road kill).
• Sudden absence of rodent activity where it had previously been obvious or common place.
• Numerous rodent burrows that are “full of flies” and smell “bad” or are flea infested at the mouth of the burrow.
If you observe any of these incidents in or around campgrounds, USFS work stations, or living quarters, please contact your local or county health department. In addition, the CDHS Vector-Borne Disease Section may be contacted at the following:
Northern California: Six Rivers, Klamath, Modoc, Shasta-Trinity, Lassen, Plumas and Mendocino.
Please contact Charlie Smith (530) 225-2130, or Larry Bronson (530) 225-2071
Central California: Tahoe, LTBMU, Eldorado, Stanislaus, Sierra.
Please contact Mark Novak, Jim Tucker, Marieta Braks or Jonathan Kwan (916) 686-8414.
Southern and Coastal California: Los Padres, Inyo, Sequoia, Angeles, San Bernardino and Cleveland.
Please contact Renjie Hu or Joe Burns (909) 937-3447, or Dick Davis (805) 929-5377
.