This year there have been four confirmed cases of plague in humans, including an 8-year-old boy, reportedly from Edgewood, who died.

Two other cases from Santa Fe County were the boy's 10-year-old sister and a 56-year-old man, both of whom have recovered.

Vicki Murphy, an animal control officer for the town of Edgewood, said she didn't know the plague cases were in her area until recently. She was given the same information that was sent out to the general public, which only specified Santa Fe County.

When asked by the Telegraph earlier this month, Deborah Busemeyer, spokeswoman for the health department, refused to give a more specific region in the county where the case occurred.

Paul Ettestad, State Public Health Veterinarian, explained that the policy is an effort to protect patients' confidentiality.

"Everybody is always trying to get more particular information," he said.

Ettestad pointed out that plague is not just an issue for Edgewood, but for all of Santa Fe County. He said he worked on the protocols for sending out information with Busemeyer, and that attempts to get more specific information about where each case of plague was found would be "missing the point."

"We don't want people to say it's just in one particular area," he said. "To tell someone that it's here, but not anywhere else, that would be very misleading."

Not everyone seems to agree that more specific information about where the cases came from would miss the point, however.

Ray Mahalick, chief for the Edgewood Volunteer Fire District, said it was his department that responded to the emergency call in this case, but he was not ever informed by health officials that the cause of death was plague.

"Resuscitation was not successful at the residence," he said. "They didn't know he had plague, nobody knew that … we were pretty much in the dark as well, as far as finding out."

According to information from the state Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, anyone who has been exposed to infected animals or fleas may show symptoms of plague. The symptoms include "swollen gland, fever, chills, headache, and extreme exhaustion." Apart from painful, swollen glands, the symptoms are somewhat similar to influenza or other diseases and could be misidentified if one is not on the lookout for plague.

Mahalick and Murphy have both made inquiries about getting more localized information in the future, they said.

While the disease could affect them or the people who work for them, Murphy added that she could also be more effective as an educator if she could tell pet owners that plague is in their area and that they should treat their animals for fleas to help stop the spread of disease.

"I'm concerned that they don't notify the animal control entities," she said.

One measure that appears to have been effective in making locals aware of the danger was a pamphlet about plague that was placed on Edgewood resident Steve William's gate. The flier led him to believe the plague case must have happened in his area, he said.

"I was just trying to put two and two together and that's what I came up with," he said, adding that he could certainly be exposed. "My dogs like to chase rabbits and take them back (to the house)."

Although it can also be spread from person to person, plague is often carried by infected fleas on animals and spread from one animal to another in a localized area.

After seeing the pamphlet, Williams put flea collars on his dogs and he now uses gloves to dispose of dead rabbits.

This isn't the first time the lack of specified areas of plague cases has raised questions. About four years ago, several plague cases appeared in Bernalillo County, just west of Edgewood.

Resident Linda Barbour said her involvement began when a neighbor asked about disposing of a group of about a dozen dead squirrels under her house. Fortunately, the plague-ridden animals were disposed of properly, but soon after that another neighbor died of plague, followed by several more deaths in the area.

Barbour, who was president of the East Mountain Coalition of Neighborhood and Landowner Associations at the time, said rumors began to fly after that. It was tough to get reliable information out to the public, she said.

Barbour continues to distribute pamphlets on plague to local veterinary hospitals and to residents at meetings. She campaigned for more specificity from the health department, but didn't get anywhere, she said.

"I think it's a problem," she said. "I think, personally, that they (the state health department) could do better."

With more regional information, she said, "people would alert-up a little better. Be a little more diligent about dusting their dogs, be more aware of their symptoms."

Bernalillo County Commissioner Michael Brasher pointed out that he and several emergency management officials discussed plague and other public health concerns at a meeting at Los Vecinos Community Center about a week ago.

Although he said he doesn't know the situation in Santa Fe County well enough to comment, he said he considers it crucial to get information relating to public health out to the public.

"Local government has an obligation to make sure that the communities they serve are well-informed," he said.