A family pet is expected to recover after being treated for a case of bubonic plague, KOAT-TV is reporting on its Web site.

It's the first reported case in Bernalillo County, and though the report doesn't say where the case occurred, Albuquerque's Environmental Health Department told KOAT there has never been a case of the plague found west of Tramway.

Most cases found in the Albuquerque area have turned up in the foothills or East Mountains area, so health officials urge people in those areas to be especially aware of rodents.

The potentially fatal disease is often carried by prairie dogs, rock squirrels and other small mammals, and the dog that contracted the disease was found eating a dead prairie dog, KOAT reported.

"If you stay away from infected animals or rodents, also make sure that your animals, even if they're house animals, don't get any fleas," Dr. Mark Dimenna of the city health department told KOAT.

Environmental officials warn that because of drought conditions, disease-carrying rodents lacking food and water in the wild will probably head for homes and settled neighborhoods in search of nourishment, KOAT reported.

The bacterial disease can be passed on to humans through bites from infected fleas but also can be transmitted by direct contact with infected animals, including pets, state health officials warn.

Last year there were three reported cases of human plague -- none fatal -- in Santa Fe County, which health officials last year called the epicenter of bubonic plague in New Mexico.

And in the Edgewood area, five cases were found in wildlife and one case of the plague in a domestic cat. For information about protecting yourself or your animals from the plague, you can call the Santa Fe County Department of Health at (505) 827-0006 or the Bernalillo County Environmental Health Department at (505) 314-1310.

Generally, health officials advise you to avoid contact with rodents; do not handle wild animals, dead or alive; keep household  pets from roaming outside and treat outside pets often with anti-flea protection; remove items that attract rodents to the home (such as wood and refuse piles, wrecked cars and uncovered garbage); and when skinning game or handling uncooked meet, wear rubber gloves (courtesy of the Mountain View Telegraph last September).

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