SHERWOOD, Ark.- For the past three weeks, the Sherwood Animal Shelter has been shut down after a highly contagious disease spread rapidly among cats, dogs, and even humans.

Officials say the outbreak began when a sick cat was brought in, and the shelter’s overcrowded and outdated conditions allowed the illness to quickly spread.

“Our shelter has been closed for the past three weeks because we ended up with a disease that’s spread amongst the animal population, so we had to quarantine, we had to get everything cleaned,” Sherwood Mayor Mary Jo Heye-Townsell said.

The illness, identified as cryptosporidiosis, is caused by the intestinal parasite Cryptosporidium.

“The problem with it is that it is extremely contagious, extremely viral, so it’s hard to get rid of,” said Brody Miller with Sh

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