This Week's Program - Plague, Fort Collins and CDC

The CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Diseases (DVBD) is responsible for the prevention and control of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks, fleas and mites.  This includes circulates continuously in many western states, including Colorado Lyme disease, and dengue, as well as more recent public health problems, including the chikungunya, Zika, and heartland viruses.

 

Dr. Gage has served in many countries as a short-term World Health Organization consultant on plague and other rodent-borne diseases, and has given more than 49 invited presentations, including a number of keynote addresses at national and international scientific meetings. 

 

Kenneth Gage obtained his B.S. in Biology from Wichita State in 1980 and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Oklahoma in 1983 and 1987, respectively. From 1987-1992 Dr. Gage completed postdoctoral fellowships on tick-borne diseases at the University of Texas Medical Branch and the National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories. He joined the CDC in 1992.  Dr. Gage is the author/co-author of more than 183 scientific publications, including 127 peer-reviewed articles, 8 invited reviews, and 21 book chapters, as well as other publications from CDC, WHO, or other sources. 

 

Vector-borne diseases can re-emerge after periods of relative quiescence, demonstrating their ongoing ability to threaten human health.  Plague, a flea-borne bacterial disease that many believe disappeared following the Black Death of medieval times, has recently experienced outbreaks in Africa, Asia, and South America.  Plague still exists in many western states, including Colorado, among native rodents and their fleas.  Humans cases in the U.S. are relatively rare (usually less than 10 per year), but can occur as a result of being bitten by wild rodent fleas or though handling infected animals.