DENVER-
State and Denver Zoo officials Monday were increasing precautions to prevent an epidemic after a capuchin monkey at the zoo died of plague last week.
Zoo officials learned late Friday that the 8-year-old animal that died Wednesday tested positive for the disease, according to a zoo statement. More than a dozen squirrels and at least a rabbit have been found dead of plague in the City Park area just east of downtown, which includes a golf course, the zoo and the Denver Museum of Nature of Science, state health officials said.
The monkey, which was acting lethargic the day before, was found dead by a zookeeper.
Plague is common in Colorado during this time of year, but it usually occurs in rural parts of the state, where it’s sometimes discovered when entire prairie dog colonies die off. Plague was identified last year in wild animals from 25 Colorado counties, but it is unusual for the disease to spread into metro areas, said state health department epidemiologist John Pape.
“We see it every year in wild rodents,” said Pape. “But it’s uncommon circulating in tree squirrels in urban neighborhoods, including metro Denver.”
Pape was unsure how the monkey was infected, though he and zoo veterinarian Dr. David Kenny suspect the primate ingested the carcass of a dead squirrel that carried the disease, based on normal monkey behavior.
No other animals, including the other 17 capuchins, have shown any signs of illness but as a precaution the monkeys have been taken from their usual “island” display and placed in a separate caged display for observations.
The capuchins have also been given antibiotics, but only as a preventative measure.
Kenny said zoo officials are considering other measures on how to better shield other animals from possible contact with squirrels.
“It’s a first time occurrence at the zoo, as far as we know,” said Kenny.
Though the chance that a human could be infected remains minimal, Pape said it’s more important than ever that people take necessary precautions now that the disease has occurred in the city.
Pape said citizens should contact the health department if they happen upon any dead squirrels.
“We’re using those tips to map out where (the disease) is and we’ll use that data to figure out where to do testing,” he said.
Health department officials suspect the disease was brought into the city by a fox or coyote, said Kenny.
Since plague was rediscovered in the Colorado in 1957, state health officials said there have been 58 human cases, with nine of those cases being fatal.
