Public health officials in California have issued an alert after a Lake Tahoe resident tested positive for the plague.
“Plague is naturally present in many parts of California, including higher elevation areas of El Dorado County,” Kyle Fliflet, the acting director of public health for El Dorado County, said in a statement.
“It’s important that individuals take precautions for themselves and their pets when outdoors, especially while walking, hiking and or camping in areas where wild rodents are present,” he continued.
What’s happening?
Officials believed that the anonymous individual contracted the plague via a flea bite while camping in the South Lake Tahoe area, according to the official statement.
The plague is caused by a strain of bacteria that most often spreads to humans via flea bites.
Also known as the “Black Death,” the plague killed over 25 million people during the 1300s, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Thanks to modern medicine, the plague is now easily cured using common antibiotics if caught early enough, El Dorado County officials said in their statement.
Because early detection is essential, it is important to know the warning signs of a potential plague infection. These include “fever, nausea, weakness and swollen lymph nodes,” officials said.
While many people believe plague to be a disease of the distant past, it has been endemic in the Western U.S. since a plague outbreak took place in San Francisco around the turn of the 20th century. This nearly forgotten history has been detailed in the book “The Barbary Plague: The Black Death in Victorian San Francisco” by Marilyn Chase.
Beyond California, the plague has been detected in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon, per Cleveland Clinic.
Why is the plague still important?
Despite the concerns raised over the positive test, the plague remains extremely rare. Prior to the current incident, the last case of human plague in El Dorado County took place in 2020, according to county officials.
However, with the plague being spread to humans by infected fleas, the situation served as a reminder of the risks that insect-borne diseases still pose to human health.
In many parts of the world, mosquitoes carrying deadly diseases like malaria and dengue fever have been spreading beyond their traditional geographic ranges due in large part to rising global temperatures. These expanding ranges place more people at risk of contracting these life-threatening illnesses.
What’s being done about the plague?
To reduce the risk of contracting the plague, El Dorado County officials recommended taking several measures, some of which would also be effective in protecting oneself against other diseases spread by insects.
These recommendations included wearing long pants tucked into boot tops when hiking through natural areas and avoiding wild rodents such as squirrels and chipmunks.
Since infected fleas can catch a ride on family pets, officials also recommended keeping dogs on a leash while in nature areas and not letting pets near wild rodents, especially dead ones, or their burrows.
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