[FEL-L] biologist contracts plague from cougar, dies

[Gary Breuckman]

PHOENIX - A wildlife biologist at Grand Canyon National Park most
likely died from the plague contracted while performing a necropsy on
a mountain lion that later tested positive for the disease, officials
said Friday.

Eric York, 37, who worked in the park's cougar collaring program,
became ill on Oct. 30 and called out sick from for a couple of days
before being found dead in his home Nov. 2. Tests were positive for
the pneumonic plague.

Officials said 49 people who came in contact with York were given
antibiotics as a precaution. None have shown symptoms of the disease.

York, whose family lives in Massachusetts, had skinned the cougar and
was exposed to its internal organs during the necropsy he performed
three days before developing symptoms, said David Wong, an
epidemiologist for the U.S. Public Health Service.

The cougar, which had died from the plague, was believed to have
remained in back-country areas where park visitors wouldn't normally
go, officials said.

The National Park Service is planning to review its safety guidelines
for wildlife biologists and make possible recommendations for
improvements. Park Superintendent Steve Martin said authorities were
examining whether the guidelines were followed in York's case.

An average of 13 plague cases are reported in the United States each
year. Fourteen percent of cases are fatal, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention.

While Arizona health officials say the disease appears to be on the
rise in the state, CDC spokeswoman Lola Russell said plague cases
weren't on the rise nationally.

Plague is transmitted primarily by fleas and direct contact with
infected animals. When the disease causes pneumonia, it can be
transmitted from an infected person to a non-infected person by
airborne cough droplets. Cases are treatable with antibiotics.

Associated Press reporter Bob Christie contributed to this report.