News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: September 20, 2012

Navajo and Apache County Public Health Officials Issue Joint Plague Health Advisory
Navajo and Apache County Public Health officials have jointly issued a Health Advisory regarding Plague found in dead prairie dogs in Apache County. The prairie dogs were found ten miles east of the Navajo/Apache county line near mile post 362 on state route 61 and tests conducted at a Northern Arizona University laboratory returned positive for Plague.
Area residents have been notified of the situation and the prairie dog burrows have been dusted with insecticide to kill fleas. The area will be closely monitored to determine if further action is required.
The positive test is the first evidence of Plague activity reported in Apache County this year. Although this is the only location in Apache County where Plague has been found this year, the disease may be more widespread. The public is urged to take precautions to reduce the risk of exposure to this serious disease.
Plague is a disease of rodents and rabbits, and sometimes, of the predators that feed upon these animals. The disease can be transmitted to humans and other animals by the bite of an infected flea, or by direct contact with an infected animal. The disease is curable with proper antibiotic therapy if diagnosed and treated early.
Symptoms in humans generally appear within two to six days following exposure and include: fever, chills, weakness, muscle pain, and swollen lymph glands (called “buboes”) in the groin, armpits, or limbs. The disease can become systemic (spreading throughout the bloodstream) and/or pneumonic (affecting the lungs).
Persons living, hunting, working, camping or visiting in areas where Plague and /or rodents are known to be present are urged to take the following precautions to reduce their risk of exposure:
1. DO NOT HANDLE SICK OR DEAD ANIMALS.
2. HUNTERS SHOULD WEAR RUBBER GLOVES and other protection when cleaning and skinning wild animals. Hunters who skin animals and come into contact with tissue or body fluids of an infected animal may become infected.
3. BE AWARE THAT CATS ARE HIGHLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO PLAGUE. While cats can get sick from a variety of illnesses, a sick cat (especially one allowed to run at large outside) should receive care by a veterinarian for proper diagnosis and treatment to reduce human exposure to Plague.
4. USE INSECT REPELLENT CONTAINING DEET when visiting or working in areas where Plague might be active or rodents might be present (Woodcutters, Hunters, Campers, and Hikers).
5. PREVENT PETS FROM ROAMING LOOSE. Pets can pick up the infected fleas of wild animals, and then pass the fleas to their human owner, which is one of the common ways for humans to contact Plague. Cats with Plague can also pass the disease to humans directly through respiratory droplets.
6. DE-FLEA PETS ROUTINELY. Contact your veterinarian for specific details.
7. AVOID EXPOSURE TO RODENT BURROWS AND FLEAS.
8. IN CASE OF ILLNESS (SYMPTOMS PREVIOUSLY DESCRIBED), SEE YOUR PHYSICIAN IMMEDIATELY.

Hunters are advised that the “Mistake Peak Fire” in the Tonto National Forest (in the Mistake Peak/Greenback Valley area in Game Management Unit 23 South, about 11 miles east of Punkin Center, Ariz.), has resulted in some road closures that could potentially affect vehicle access for bear and archery deer hunts that begin on Aug. 24.

The fire, first reported on Aug. 8, has burned 2,700 acres as of Aug. 13 and is 15 percent contained, according to a Forest Service news release. About 120 fire personnel are working the fire.

The fire was moving north and east and has transitioned from grass/brush fuels to Ponderosa pine timber which will burn for a longer duration. Firefighters continue to clear vegetation beside key roads to serve as existing containment boundaries. Smoke may be visible.

Road closures in the area include:
• Forest Roads 236 and 236-A.
• Forest Road 71 is closed at the FR 609 and FR 236 junction.
• Forest Roads 486 and 416.
• Forest Road 609 is closed at the junction with FR 236 and FR 486.
Depending on conditions at the time, these road closures could potentially affect vehicle access for bear and archery deer hunts that begin Aug. 24.

Game and Fish officials pointed out that the fire is only affecting a portion of Unit 23 South specifically, and there are still plenty of areas in the unit unaffected by this fire.

For more information, including a map of the fire area, visit http://www.inciweb.org/incident/3141/ or http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tonto/news-events/?cid=STELPRDB5385773.

A THUNDERSTORM…MOVING EAST AT 5 MPH…WILL AFFECT PINETOP-LAKESIDE…UNTIL 415 PM MST. OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING IS EXPECTED AND HAIL UP TO PENNY SIZED IS POSSIBLE. THIS STORM WILL PRODUCE HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF ONE HALF TO THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH…WITH HAIL POSSIBLY COVERING THE GROUND AND ROAD SURFACES.
RADAR IS ESTIMATING RAINFALL RATES BETWEEN ONE HALF AND ONE INCH PER HOUR WITH THIS STORM. HEAVY RAIN WILL CAUSE REDUCTIONS IN VISIBILITY AND PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS. SLOW DOWN AND BE PREPARED FOR SUDDEN DROPS IN VISIBILITY AND POOR TRACTION.