Child infected with plague at Yosemite National Park

Issue: September 2015

A California child has contracted a rare case of unspecified plague while visiting Yosemite National Park, likely from the fleas of a dead rodent or animal, according to a California Department of Public Health press release.

“Human cases of plague are rare, with the last reported human infection in California occurring in 2006,” Karen Smith, MD, MPH, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in the release. “Although this is a rare disease, people should protect themselves from infection by avoiding any contact with wild rodents. Never feed squirrels, chipmunks, or other rodents in picnic or campground areas, and never touch sick or dead rodents. Protect your pets from fleas and keep them away from wild animals.”

Karen Smith

The child from Los Angeles was hospitalized after camping at the park’s Crane Flat Campground and visiting Stanislaus National Forest in July. No other members of the child’s camping group have been hospitalized or reported symptoms related to plague. The child is recovering, while the family is being monitored by health officials.

To protect visitors at Yosemite, officials have added caution signs at the campground and said:

never feed squirrels, chipmunks or other rodents and never touch sick or dead rodents;
avoid walking, hiking or camping near rodent burrows;
wear long pants tucked into socks or boot tops to reduce exposure to fleas;
spray insect repellent containing DEET on socks and pant cuffs to reduce exposure to fleas; and
keep wild rodents out of homes, trailers, and outbuildings and away from pets.

In July a man died of plague in Pueblo County, Colorado. This case followed the death of a teenager from the state’s Larimer County during June. The teenager’s transmission of septicemic plague was likely from the fleas of a dead rodent or animal on his family’s property, according to a press release.