California Resident Tests Positive For The Plague After Camping, Officials Say

A resident of South Lake Tahoe successful California has tested affirmative for nan plague, section authorities announced this week.

A connection released connected Tuesday by wellness officials successful El Dorado region said they were notified of nan business by nan California section of nationalist wellness (CDPH). The connection said nan individual is now recovering astatine location and is nether nan attraction of a aesculapian professional.

Health officials judge that nan personification “may person been bitten by an infected flea while camping successful South Lake Tahoe area”, a celebrated recreation spot successful nan California mountains, and said that they are investigating nan situation.

“Plague is people coming successful galore parts of California, including higher elevation areas of El Dorado county,” said Kyle Fliflet, El Dorado county’s acting head of nationalist health. “It’s important that individuals return precautions for themselves and their pets erstwhile outdoors, particularly while walking, hiking and aliases camping successful areas wherever chaotic rodents are present.”

According to nan news release, plague is caused by nan bacterium Yersinia pestis, and is astir often transmitted by nan bites of fleas “that person acquired nan germs from infected squirrels, chipmunks and different chaotic rodents”.

Dogs and cats tin besides transportation infected fleas into nan home, officials said.

In nan statement, section officials advised nan nationalist to debar interaction pinch chaotic rodents and to forestall pets from going adjacent rodent burrows.

The news merchandise said that while quality cases of plague are “extremely rare” they tin beryllium very serious.Symptoms typically look wrong 2 weeks of vulnerability and see fever, nausea, weakness and swollen lymph nodes, nan merchandise noted. If detected early, plague tin beryllium efficaciously treated pinch antibiotics.

CDPH said that it routinely monitors rodent populations crossed California for plague activity.

The section said that surveillance successful El Dorado region from 2021 done 2024 identified a full of 41 rodents that showed grounds of vulnerability to nan plague bacterium.

So acold successful 2025, 4 rodents person tested positive, region officials said, adding that they were each wrong nan Tahoe Basin.

This week’s lawsuit is not nan region’s first brushwood pinch plague. The past confirmed quality lawsuit successful El Dorado region was successful 2020, nan connection added, and was besides believed to beryllium linked to nan South Lake Tahoe area. Before that, nan merchandise says that 2 cases were reported successful 2015 aft vulnerability successful Yosemite nationalist park. All individuals were treated and recovered.

In 2021, nan US Forest Service announced it was closing respective celebrated sites astatine Lake Tahoe for respective days aft discovering plague in nan chipmunk population.

The national agency said astatine nan clip that “vector control” workers would complete “eradication treatments” successful nan area.

Last year, Colorado wellness officials besides confirmed a quality lawsuit of nan plague.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that location is an mean of 7 quality plague cases a twelvemonth successful nan US, pinch astir of nan quality cases occurring successful nan occidental US.