California reports first human plague case in 5 years

[Judi Lynn]

By Rachael Rettner - Senior Writer 3 hours ago

The infected person is a resident of South Lake Tahoe.


A California resident has tested positive for plague, marking the state's first human case of the disease in five years, according to health officials.

The case was confirmed on Monday (Aug. 17) in a resident of South Lake Tahoe, according to a statement from the El Dorado County Department of Health and Human Services.

The individual is described as an "avid walker" who may have been bitten by an infected flea while walking their dog in the Tahoe Keys area or along the "Truckee River Corridor" north of Highway 50, the statement said.

"Plague is naturally present in many parts of California, including higher elevation areas of El Dorado County," Dr. Nancy Williams, the El Dorado County public health officer, said in the 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. Human cases of plague are extremely rare but can be very serious."

More:
https://www.livescience.com/california-plague-case-south-lake-tahoe.html?utm_source=notification

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Just add it to the 2020 Sucks list

along with COVID, volcanoes, wildfires, murder hornets, locusts, and Trump.

[Iliyah]

2. And rabid republicans . . .

[Wicked Blue]

3. and the weird thing with the Earth's magnetic field

Apocalypse? What apocalypse?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Wait, WHAT??

[Wicked Blue]

5. NASA scientists track slowly splitting "dent" in Earth's magnetic field

https://www.democraticunderground.com/122871191

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. Damn. Now all the magnets are going to fall off my fridge

or turn upside down or something.

[Wicked Blue]

12. And the magnets will get eaten by locusts

which will get stung by murder hornets

which will get infected with covid-19 and slowly spiral down into volcanoes.

[AZ8theist]

11. yup..

[Wicked Blue]

13. Perfect!

Mrs. Teasdale and President Firefly

[jeffreyi]

6. Plague is endemic in lots of places.

Cute little chipmunks carry it, among other critters.

[ALBliberal]

7. My daughters 29 year old friend died of the plague a few weeks ago infected on a ranch in N NM

Tragic.

[doc03]

9. Is that the plague we were vaccinated for in the

Army Plague 1 and Plague 2?

[dhill926]

10. someone will be shouting Apocalypse Bingo! soon...

[Javaman]

14. I disagree...

we've had a plague in the white house for the past 4 years.

[Warpy]

15. Plague is endemic out west

and NM sees a human case nearly every year. The vectors are roaming dogs and cats who pick up fleas jumping off dead or dying rodents. Systemic flea treatments have helped a lot, but some people don't have the $$ to get them and that's where the transmission occurs. Plague gets bad very quickly, but people who get to the hospital when they're starting to feel extremely ill can be cured by old fashioned penicillin, it still works on Yersinia pestis.