These infected animals and their fleas serve as long-term reservoirs for the bacteria. Scientists think that plague bacteria circulate at low rates within populations of certain rodents without causing excessive rodent die-off.
Wild carnivores can become infected by eating other infected animals. Many types of animals, such as rock squirrels, wood rats, ground squirrels, prairie dogs, chipmunks, mice, voles, and rabbits can be affected by plague.
Plague occurs in rural and semi-rural areas of the western United States, primarily in semi-arid upland forests and grasslands where many types of rodent species can be involved. The bacteria that cause plague, Yersinia pestis, maintain their existence in a cycle involving rodents and their fleas. A downloadable version pdf icon is also available.
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