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NATIONAL PARKS - ARIZONA
Grand Canyon issues warning after biologist dies from plague
Park emphasizes visitors probably were not exposed.
By Jane Engle, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 9, 2007
Grand Canyon National Park issued new precautions for visitors after lab tests indicated that a wildlife biologist had died from pneumonic plague.
The biologist, Eric York, 37, was found dead Nov. 2 in his home on the canyon's South Rim, and the preliminary lab results were reported today.
Pamela Walls, parks spokeswoman, emphasized that York had limited contact with visitors and that, in any event, person-to-person transmission of the potentially fatal disease was highly unlikely. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she said, such transmission has not been observed in the U.S. since 1924.
However, because the disease, carried by fleas that feed off infected rodents, can infect humans through flea bites or by direct contact with infected animals, Walls said, officials are adding new precautions to their usual advice to avoid feeding or approaching wild animals. Among the recommendations:
Use insect repellent when visiting or working in areas where plague might be active or rodents might be present.
Control fleas on pets by using flea collars or flea sprays.
Prevent pets from roaming loose.
Avoid exposure to rodent burrows and fleas and wild animals.
Do not handle sick or dead animals.
Symptoms of pneumonic plague can include fever, headache, chest pain, cough, bloody saliva and swollen lymph nodes, officials said. The incubation period can be several days.
Walls said 49 people, including co-workers and roommates but no park visitors, are known to have had contact with York, and they have been put on antibiotics. So far none has shown symptoms, she added.
Walls said she wasn't aware of any prior infections or deaths involving the disease at the park.
travel.latimes.com
Grand Canyon issues warning after biologist dies from plague
Park emphasizes visitors probably were not exposed.
By Jane Engle, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 9, 2007
Grand Canyon National Park issued new precautions for visitors after lab tests indicated that a wildlife biologist had died from pneumonic plague.
The biologist, Eric York, 37, was found dead Nov. 2 in his home on the canyon's South Rim, and the preliminary lab results were reported today.
Pamela Walls, parks spokeswoman, emphasized that York had limited contact with visitors and that, in any event, person-to-person transmission of the potentially fatal disease was highly unlikely. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she said, such transmission has not been observed in the U.S. since 1924.
However, because the disease, carried by fleas that feed off infected rodents, can infect humans through flea bites or by direct contact with infected animals, Walls said, officials are adding new precautions to their usual advice to avoid feeding or approaching wild animals. Among the recommendations:
Use insect repellent when visiting or working in areas where plague might be active or rodents might be present.
Control fleas on pets by using flea collars or flea sprays.
Prevent pets from roaming loose.
Avoid exposure to rodent burrows and fleas and wild animals.
Do not handle sick or dead animals.
Symptoms of pneumonic plague can include fever, headache, chest pain, cough, bloody saliva and swollen lymph nodes, officials said. The incubation period can be several days.
Walls said 49 people, including co-workers and roommates but no park visitors, are known to have had contact with York, and they have been put on antibiotics. So far none has shown symptoms, she added.
Walls said she wasn't aware of any prior infections or deaths involving the disease at the park.
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