Plague Information
June 23, 2000
Early tests by the Centers for Disease Control in Southern Utah show four out of six rodents have the plague.
And so do the fleas.
Now, epidemiologists will expand their plague investigation into other areas of the state.
Here's more on the story from Science Specialist Ed Yeates.
A scene from 1994 is repeating itself in Southern Utah.
Epidemilogists are suited up and disecting rodents.
Preliminary observations confirm a large die-off caused by the plague. The disease is also evident in animals which are carriers but survive.
Plague notices are now being posted in Utah's National Parks.
United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services is also out taking head counts.
MIKE BODENCHUCK, DIR., USDA WILDLIFE SERVICES: "I'VE BEEN IN UTAH SINCE 1993 AND THIS IS ONE OF THE HIGHER YEARS WE'VE SEEN FOR RODENTS."
ED YEATES, SCIENCE SPECIALIST: "AT FIRST GLANCE, THIS IS A HEALTHY FIELD OF ALFALFA. BUT THE VOLES ARE HERE AND SO IS THE DAMAGE."
Voles are meadow mice. You can't see them now because they're underground chewing away at the alfalfa roots.
While epidemiologists worry about disease, Mike Bodenchuck worries about crop damage.
Only weeds are in these bare spots now. In some areas like the Cache Valley, experts estimate the voles will destroy 30 to 40 percent of the crops including many apple trees.
"IN SOME SPOTS THEY'VE BEEN ESTIMATING AS HIGH AS 10,000 PER ACRE. THAT'S ABOUT ONE VOLE OR MEADOW MOUSE PER FOUR AND A HALF SQUARE FEET, WHICH IS AN INCREDIBLE DENSITY."
Meanwhile at Utah State University, scientists are stepping up their research on a new way to force rodents away from humans. Researchers are growing rye grass infected with a fungus. It doesn't harm the grass, but when rodents eat it.
MIKE CONOVER, USU RESEARCHER: "IF A VOLE ATE THESE LEAVES IT WOULD FIND THE LEAF VERY BITTER TASTING AND VERY UNPALATABLE - AND SO THEY JUST CAN'T SURVIVE ON THIS STUFF. THEY DON'T LIKE IT. THEY'LL MOVE AWAY."
Grasses could be planted like a moat around human populations. Prairie dogs, voles, deer mice and other rodents would move to more remote areas, eliminating crop damage and the potential spread of disease.
The advice this summer: Stay away from rodents and don't pitch tents over or near rodent burrows.
