Careful while you're handling those varmints, Guys

[TleVta]

Read this in the local fish wrap yesterday:

http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/bubonic-plague-oregon-teen/2015/10/30/id/699728/

[LDP]

Thats why I dont handle them. I use gloves if I need to handle anything even deer or elk.

[Habanero69er]

If you do handle them, keep plenty of streptomycin & ampicillin handy.      Luckily, there is a cure for the Black Death.

Watch out for those armadillos too. Leprosy!

[longislandhunter]

Scary stuff

Jeff

[Redlock]

While I fully agree that precautions need to be taken when handling wild animals I also think we need to put this story in perspective. Only seven people were infected nation wide and no fatalities. Contrast that with the number of people that probably died driving to and from their hunting adventures, yet we wouldn't call driving scary (unless you drive with my wife).  Heck, probably more people were poisoned at the local "national brand" burger joint than got the plague.
Red.

[Martis 1]

I've posted this before, but in my area the plague is present, but I don't know of anyone who's contracted it.  When I worked for State Parks, we knew it was around.  We had ground squirrels infesting all of our campgrounds.  We posted warnings for folks not to handle or feed the critters, and that if they found a dead squirrel to call it in.  We were instructed to use gloves, bag the carcass, and turn it in for testing.  We were told that the fleas carried the virus, and to be mindful of them. 

Now I carry gloves in my hunting pack, and fortunately most of our seasons are after the weather has cooled off, which hopefully reduces the number of fleas I have to deal with.  Seems so anyway.

Ron.