Pathologists at Washington State University have confirmed a rare case of the plague in a mule deer found in Idaho, according to WSU Insider.
The deer was spotted on June 9 in Custer County, Idaho, according to CBS-affiliate KBOI. An officer with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game located and euthanized the animal the following day.
Tissue samples and the deer’s eyes were submitted to the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory’s main laboratory on the WSU Pullman campus, according to KBOI.
Though this is the first case of plague reported in a deer found in Idaho, there have been previous cases in Wyoming and Oregon with noted similarities, according to WSU Insider. Inflicted by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, the plague is naturally contracted and circulated by wild animals in areas of the western United States.
According to the NIH, the disease commonly presents with blindness caused by lesions in the animal’s eyes, a condition exhibited in the deer spotted on June 9.
While the plague is exceedingly rare, humans exposed to the plague may develop severe illness or even death without early antibiotic treatment.
Wildlife experts and officials warn people to avoid animals that exhibit signs of blindness and abnormal behavior. Those who encounter suspicious animals are asked to report the exact location and species to their state wildlife agency, according to KBOI.
Suspicions of the deer’s condition were confirmed using a polymerase chain reaction test, which looks for small traces of DNA, according to WSU Insider. While the disease was only found in the deer’s eye sample, WSU pathologists speculate the bacteria may have cleared from the other samples before the samples were examined.
In accordance with regulation, WSU has reported the case to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and destroyed all samples following the completion of testing.
