[FEL-L] Wyoming mountain lions die of plague

[BigCatSimba at aol.com]

Wyoming mountain lions die of plague 
By Alison Stewart Fri Dec 15, 3:13 PM ET 
POWELL, Wyoming (Reuters) - Two mountain lions have died of bubonic plague in 
northwest Wyoming, posing a risk of possible infection to humans, a local 
scientist said on Friday. 
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In a little more than a year, four area mountain lions have died from the 
disease and several domestic cats have tested positive, said Ken Mills, a 
professor of veterinary sciences who diagnosed the cats' disease in his University of 
Wyoming laboratory.
Bubonic plague is often spread by fleas but if it reaches an animal's lungs, 
it can be spread through coughing or sneezing, he warned.
"Plague is cycling in that area, and the potential is there to infect 
(domestic) cats. That really would be where exposure to humans would take place," 
said Mills.
The mountain lions died at the end of October, but the university just issued 
a warning to hunters and cat owners on Thursday. The area affected is a 
sparsely populated portion of northwest Wyoming that includes Yellowstone National 
Park and Jackson, both popular tourist destinations.
Though millions of people died of the plague in Europe in the Middle Ages, 
there are just 10-15 U.S. human cases each year, according to the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention. In 2003, nine countries reported 2,118 cases and 
182 deaths -- the bulk of which occurred in Africa, according to the 
Modern outbreaks are normally associated with rats and their fleas and can be 
often be treated with antibiotics. If not promptly diagnosed, it can be 
fatal. Mountain lions eat rodents on occasion.
The two Wyoming mountain lion deaths were a mother and kitten. A second 
kitten is still alive, however, and does not have the disease.
The biologists who found the dead cat and kitten could have been exposed to 
the plague, but are doing fine, according to the University of Wyoming.
Mills said the most recent human plague death in the area came in 1992, after 
a trapper skinned an infected bobcat. 
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