Plague Hits Prairie Dog, Black-Footed Ferret

Plague once struck mortal fear in humans, but it's a thing of the past, right? Not so, according to research published in a special issue of the journal Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, which focused solely on plague.

Two of the papers in the issue were co-authored by a U.S. Geopogical Survey (USGS) researcher, and they reveal that plague has hindered recovery of the critically endangered black-footed ferret and several species of prairie dogs (including the threatened Utah prairie dog), and it's not just an episodic problem.

Plague's impact on other wildlife populations is cause for concern, Dean Biggins, USGS wildlife biologist and co-author of the papers, said in a USGS press release...

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