In July 2020, media outlets reported that a squirrel in Colorado tested positive for bubonic plague, making it the first case of plague in Jefferson County. This claim is true, though experts caution that the incident is not cause for immediate concern. “On Saturday, July 11, 2020, a squirrel found in the Town of Morrison tested positive for bubonic plague. The squirrel is the first case of plague in the county,” wrote the Jefferson County Public Health Department in a press release. It is not immediately clear what prompted the investigation into the dead squirrel and no further incidents of other animal or human infection were reported at the time of publication. NOTICE: On Saturday, July 11, a squirrel found in the Town of Morrison tested positive for bubonic plague. The squirrel is the first case of plague in the county. Read more: https://t.co/Ernd8QYrgA — Jefferson County Public Health (@JeffcoPH) July 12, 2020
A squirrel in a rural Colorado town tested positive for bubonic plague in July 2020.