Biologist likely infected with plague by cougar

PHOENIX – A wildlife biologist at Grand Canyon National Park most likely died from the plague contracted while performing a necropsy on a mountain lion that later tested positive for the disease, officials said Friday.

Eric York, 37, who worked in the park’s cougar collaring program, became ill on Oct. 30 and was found dead in his home Nov. 2. Tests were positive for the pneumonic plague.

Officials said 49 people who came in contact with York were given antibiotics as a precaution. None have shown symptoms of the disease.

York, whose family lives in Massachusetts, had skinned the cougar and was exposed to its internal organs during the necropsy he performed three days before developing symptoms, said David Wong, an epidemiologist for the U.S. Public Health Service.

The cougar, which had died from the plague, was believed to have remained in back-country areas where park visitors wouldn’t normally go.

The National Park Service is planning to review its safety guidelines for wildlife biologists and make possible recommendations for improvements.

An average of 13 plague cases are reported in the United States each year. Fourteen percent of cases are fatal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.