Utah Campground Closed Because of Plague

http://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/632/05-16-2006/de9f0009a73cdd91.html

Utah Campground Closed Because of Plague

(AP) - SALT LAKE CITY-A campground at Natural Bridges National
Monument has been closed because of bubonic plague detected
among field mice and chipmunks.

Plague also has been found this spring in rodent populations at
Mesa Verde National Park and Colorado National Monument.
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National Park Service officials said there never has been a
reported human case of bubonic plague originating from the parks
or national monuments.

"We come down on the conservative side when it comes to closing
campgrounds," said Joe Winkelmaier of the U.S. Public Health
Service. "We just like to be sure when it comes to plague."

Several weeks ago, park rangers noticed a large number of dead
field mice at Natural Bridges, about 40 miles west of Blanding.
Chief Ranger Ralph Jones showed that tests indicated they died
from the plague.

Rangers plan to insecticides to kill fleas in the campground
area. Humans usually contract bubonic plague after being bitten
by fleas that have bitten infected rodents. The campground could
be reopened as soon as next week.

Plague occurs throughout the West, but is concentrated in the
Four Corners area of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. An
average of 18 cases involving humans are reported each year in
the United States, according to the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. About one in seven victims die.
--
It is only those who have neither
fired a shot nor heard the shrieks
and groans of the wounded who cry
aloud for blood, more vengeance, more
desolation. War is hell.
--William Tecumseh Sherman

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