Risk of Disease at Rancho Los Amigos

The following is an article by Patricia J Meredith, MD, PhD. She analyses the situation at Rancho Los Amigos and provides facts about the risks of disease.

Patricia J Meredith, MD, PhD writes:
This has been an excellently managed colony of cats for over 10 years, and over 90% of the population there has been spayed/neutered, microchipped, dewormed, and vaccinated. Unfortunately, the nature and location of this old and abandoned part of Rancho has pre-disposed it to excessive dumping of tame cats from the neighboring communities. In addition, tame cats from nearby County Animal Shelter have shown up on occasion with pink collars on, identifying them as such. Despite continuous efforts by feral cat caretakers to stay abreast of the situation, in situations such as this it is oftentimes impossible to achieve a 100% track record.

Mr. Knabe, on his website at, www.knabe.com is citing a dramatic increase in the cat population at Rancho as reason to claim the TNR program there as a failure, which is an unfortunate and erroneous statement. Clearly, without the efforts of the Failsafe-4-Feline rescue group, the number of cats on the premises would have been 10-fold by now. I refer Mr. Knabe to Dr. Mackieʼs famous "rule of 7's" for calculated hard and irrefutable mathematical evidence of this.

Mr Knabe also sites reasons regarding the health of the children at a local day care center as being paramount in his decision. He states " Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) has determined that the current conditions pose a public health risk", and that " unmanaged colonies of feral cats could potentially pass on organisms related to human disease such as rabies, plague, endemic typhus, toxoplasmosis, and cat-scratch disease."

Today I spoke with a veterinarian at the California Department of Public Health, to get his opinion on these statements. He informed me that there has not been a case of plague in California in decades, and that when it does occur it is usually in the foothills. Likewise, he indicated that there has not been an incidence of reported rabies in cats in southern California in decades, the most recent being in a northern most county of the state. He advised me to urge those interested in learning more about the true facts regarding these diseases to consult the department's web site at www.CDPH.CA.gov.

After several hours of browsing the site, I have enclosed as attachment some key information regarding rabies, plague, and typhus, and the statistics regarding incidence of these diseases in California. Read and judge for yourself......rest assured the chances of acquiring these diseases from one of the feral cats in this well-managed colony at Rancho is quite remote. Not only are most of the cats vaccinated against rabies, the cats have also kept the grounds rodent free, thereby significantly minimizing the chance of acquiring murine typhus and plague. By removing the cats, the residents in the community are actually being put at increased risk of acquiring these diseases........something Mr. Knabe is failing to reveal to the public.

Lastly, the sand box at the child care center should always be kept covered with a plastic tarp, regardless of the presence of cats or not. Nearly all day care centers, pre-schools, and private child care facilities keep covers over their sand boxes. It keeps out falling debris, insects and spiders, and other critters from using the box. Despite the suggestion from Failsafe to keep the box covered, I drove by the Child Care Center this weekend and it still remains uncovered. To me, questions just how concerned the Child Care Center really is about the health and welfare of the children there who do play in the box.

--Patricia J. Meredith, MD, PhD


Information below from www.CDPH.CA.gov
RISK OF PLAGUE IN CALIFORNIA

Plague is a bacterial disease people can get if they are bitten by an infected rodent flea. Most persons with plague develop fever and swollen lymph nodes. Plague is treatable with antibiotics, but can progress to severe and sometimes fatal illness if diagnosis and treatment are delayed. Squirrels, chipmunks, and other rodents in many areas of California can carry plague. Persons visiting, hiking, or camping in these areas should avoid contact with rodents.

Plague in California occurs in the foothills, mountains, and coastal mountain areas (shaded areas on map). Plague is absent from the southeastern desert and the Central Valley. Plague is most common in the rural and undeveloped mountains, as well as the suburban foothills of some larger cities.
The last known human cases of plague in urban areas occurred in Los Angeles in the 1920s.


Typhus (Murine Typhus)
Typhus is a bacterial illness transmitted by fleas from wild rats or opossums. Typhus is typically a mild illness, is readily treated with antibiotics, and rarely results in death. Only a dozen or so cases are reported each year in California and most of these are in residents of a few small areas in the Los Angeles basin. Persons living in areas endemic for typhus should avoid contact with opossums and maintain proper flea control on their outdoor pets