Cats Linked to Human Plague in Southwest

Cats that roam newly suburbanized areas in the Southwest are a growing source of human plague, federal health officials warned Thursday.

Before 1977, domestic cats were not known to transmit human plague, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. But since then, they have been identified as carriers in at least 15 cases.

About half of infected cats die but the disease is rarely fatal in people.

Cats can pick up the disease from infected fleas or rodents and pass it on when they bite, scratch or lick humans. If an infected cat has mouth lesions, even its breath can transmit the plague bacteria.

Dogs also may be infected by dead rodents or fleas but they usually don’t fall ill and transmit the disease to their owners.

Kenneth Gage, acting director of the CDC’s plague section, recommended that residents of newly suburbanized areas of the Southwest keep the area around their houses clear of trash that could harbor rodents, treat pets with flea powder and keep them from roaming freely.