The Tri-County Health Department continued warnings Saturday for pet owners in Westminster after bubonic plague wiped out entire prairie dog colonies along Big Dry Creek in the past few weeks.
The plague is the same kind that killed millions in the 1300s, but health officials say there is little risk to humans.
“It’s really low,” said Tri-County’s environmental health director, Tom Butts. “But it’s all based upon whether you get exposed to a flea or not.”
Butts says no cases of the plague have been reported in humans from this outbreak.
The health department has sprayed prairie dog dens for fleas in the affected areas, and said the risk is much lower to pets and humans now than within the past two weeks before the pesticide application.
Fleas carry the plague between animals and humans.
The affected open space is roughly from West 112th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard to West 120th Avenue and Federal Boulevard.
Signs have been posted along the Big Dry Creek Trail, warning people and their pets in the area to stay on the trail. 9News
