CBS News Reports Child Diagnosed With Plague After Camping
Plague is, thankfully, extremely rare. However, both bubonic and pneumonic plague are highly infections and, if not treated quickly carry high mortality rate. Any incidences of plague are obviously major events.
So far there is no evidence that the campsite is implicated in this case. As plague is normally transmitted to humans via fleas from infected rodents there is a good chance it was contracted in the great outdoors.
If you develop flu-like symptoms after a camping trip you should seek medical help as a matter of urgency.
Child in California diagnosed with plague
Last Updated Aug 7, 2015 7:55 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES — A child in Southern California is recovering after contracting a rare case of plague. It’s the first time the disease has been diagnosed in the state in almost a decade, authorities said Thursday.
CBS Los Angeles reports the child — who was identified only as a resident of Los Angeles County — became ill and was hospitalized following a visit to Stanislaus National Forest and camping at Crane Flat Campground in Yosemite National Park in mid-July, according to California Department of Public Health spokeswoman Anita Gore.
Health officials are continuing to monitor the child’s family and treatment providers, but no other members of the child’s camping party reported symptoms. The child is recovering, Gore said.
As part of the investigation, officials are conducting an environmental evaluation in the Stanislaus National Forest, Yosemite National Park and the surrounding areas.
Plague is an infectious bacterial disease that is carried by squirrels, chipmunks and other wild rodents and their fleas. When an infected rodent becomes sick and dies, its fleas can carry the infection to other warm-blooded animals or humans.
A person who contracts plague may have symptoms that start off similar to the flu: fever, chills, weakness, swollen and painful lymph nodes and sometimes pneumonia. The disease can be treated with antibiotics if it’s caught early, but without quick treatment it can cause serious illness or death.
The last reported cases of human plague in California…
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