A resident of South Lake Tahoe has tested positive for the plague, yes, the same disease transmitted by pests that it is estimated that has killed 25 million Europeans in the Middle Ages.
It is believed that the person contracted the rare and dangerous disease after being bitten by an infected flea while camping in the South Lake Tahoe area, according to health officials of El Dorado County. The patient is under the care of a medical professional and recovers at home, health officials said.
“The plague is naturally present in many parts of California, including the areas of greatest elevation of El Dorado County,” said Kyle Fliflet, interim director of Public Health of the County, in a statement. “It is important that people take precautions for themselves and their pets when they are outdoors, especially while walking, walking and/or camping in areas where wild rodents are present.”
The plague is a very serious disease, but it can be treated with easily available antibiotics, according to the US disease control and prevention centers. The same as soon as possible a patient is diagnosed and receives treatment, the greater their possibilities of recovering completely, according to CDC.
The disease is caused by bacteria Yersinia Pestis And humans are more commonly extended due to infected flexes, according to health officials of El Dorado County. The disease can also be propagated by infected row bites or exposure to infected dogs and cats.
The disease is extremely rare and infects on average seven people in the USA per year, according to CDC. However, it must be taken seriously due to the high death potential if it is not.
The last case of plague reported in El Dorado County was in 2020 and it was also believed that it was transmitted in the South Lake Tahoe area, health officials said. In 2015, two cases of California plague were reported, probably caused by the bites of an infected or rodent flea in the Yosemite National Park. The three patients received treatment and did a complete recovery, said health officials.
There were 45 squirrels or terrestrial squirrels registered with evidence of exposure to the peste bacteria in the Tahoe basin from 2021 to the present, according to the Department of Public Health of California, which routinely monitors the populations of rodents for plague activities throughout the state.
El Dorado County Health officials urged residents and visitors to take measures to avoid exposure to rodents or ticks when exploring the desert around Lake Tahoe. The measures include wearing long pants in boots, using an insect repellent with Deet, never feeding or touching rodents, refraining from camping near animals of animal animals or rodents and leaving dogs at home when possible.
More than 80% of the pest cases in the US. This form of the disease generally results from a bite of the infected alone, and symptoms such as bubos, fever, headache, chills and weakness develop within two to eight days, according to CDC.
In July, an Arizona resident died of the pneumonic form of the plague, which can be developed when bacteria spread to the lungs of a patient with an unrelated bubonic plague. This is the most serious form of the plague and can have a period of incubation of only one day. It is also the only form of plague that can spread from human to human.
During the Middle Ages, infected rats were guilty of black death in Europe in the fourteenth century. The last outbreak of infected plague of urban rats in the United States took place in Los Angeles in 1924 and 1925, according to CDC.
