Squirrel infected with the BUBONIC PLAGUE closes major US campgrounds

This is the third positive test in the area since 2007



Campgrounds have been closed for at least seven days

US plague cases number in the single digits annually

A plague-infected squirrel has forced the closure of numerous Los Angeles campgrounds.

Routine testing of a squirrel trapped July 16 revealed this week that it had fleas carrying the bubonic plague, forcing the closure of a handful of campgrounds in Los Angeles, according to officials.



Known as the Black Death, the disease killed millions across Europe during the Middle Ages. This is the third such case in the past six years.



Of the four reported cases in Los Angeles since 1984, none have been fatal after being treated with antibiotics.

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Lethal: A squirrel in Angeles National Forest has tested positive for the plague

Officials have closed Broken Blade, Twisted Arrow, and Pima Loops of the Table Mountain Campgrounds in the Angeles National Forest for at least seven days while flea control measures are enacted, according to a public notice . Further testing of squirrels will be done before the campgrounds are reopened.

‘We found [a squirrel] that had plague, the blood showed exposure to plague and it had something like 12 fleas on it,’ Dr. Jonathan Fielding, Los Angeles County Director of Public Health and Health Officer, told NBC Los Angeles .

DANGER: Signs have been posted warning campers of the threat of plague infection

Plague is somewhat common among the ground squirrel population in the surrounding San Gabriel Mountains, according to health officials, with previous positive tests having happened in 2010 and 2007, as well as 1996 and 1995.

‘We want to advise everybody to make sure they don’t bring their pets, and, if possible – I know it’s important for the kids to be able to go camping – but to be sure to bring the proper insect repellent,’ Joe Kelso told the station.

Bubonic plague is transferred to humans through bites from infected fleas, with symtoms including enlarged lymph glands near the flea bites accompanied almost immediately by fever and chills. Untreated, the plague can infect the blood and even the lungs, sometimes resulting in pneumonic plague. This is usually remedied with a round of antibiotic treatment, officials said.

Take precaution: Campers have been advised to leave the affected areas and to use bug repellant containing DEET in order park areas

If it gets through the blood stream and winds up [in] your respiratory tract… that’s the kind we had in the fifteenth century,’ Fielding told the station.

Officials also recommend using insect repellents to ward off fleas, especially repellents containing DEET – which are not safe for pets.