A person in California tested positive for the plague and local health officials suspect the patient contracted the disease from an infected flea while camping.
Health officials urged residents of the Golden State to “take precautions” when outdoors following the infection of a resident from South Lake Tahoe.
“Plague is naturally present in many parts of California, including higher elevation areas of El Dorado County,” Kyle Fliflet, El Dorado County’s acting director of public health, 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,” said Fliflet.
The plague is caused by a type of bacteria typically carried by rodent species. It was introduced into the US in the early 20th century by immigrants traveling on rat-infested ships, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While the US most often records cases of bubonic plague, there are three different types that the bacteria can cause. It’s bubonic when the lymph nodes are primarily impacted, septicemic when it’s in the bloodstream and pneumonic when the lungs are affected.
Most bubonic plague symptoms, including regular cold symptoms like a fever and nausea, take two weeks to set in.
Seven cases are typically recorded nationally each year, according to the CDC.
A majority of cases are usually identified in the western parts of the US, mainly between New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado, according to the CDC.
Humans usually get infected through the bite from an infected flea on rodent carriers or by improperly handling an infected animal.
The disease is thankfully not nearly as fatal as when it sparked the infamous Black Death in England during the 14th century, and can be cured with simple antibiotics.
The plague last sparked an epidemic in the US in Los Angeles between 1924 and 1925, according to the CDC.
Since 2000, at least 15 people have died from the plague, according to CDC data.
In early July, one Arizona resident died of the plague in the first recorded fatality of the year. Local health officials warned that the prairie dog die-off was likely to blame.
Weeks later, a dead domestic cat in Colorado tested positive for the plague.
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