Plague Strikes Child in Yosemite

SF Gate reported on this incident that the National Park media service trended downward to avoid public panic.

The plague is an infectious bacterial disease usually carried by squirrels, chipmunks, other wild rodents and fleas that inhabit their hides.

“Although this is a rare disease, people should protect themselves from infection by avoiding any contact with wild rodents,” said Dr. Karen Smith, director of the Department of Public Health and the state’s health officer. “Never feed squirrels, chipmunks, or other rodents in picnic or campground areas, and never touch sick or dead rodents.”

Smith also advised park visitors to protect their pets from fleas and keep them away from wild animals.

“When an infected rodent becomes sick and dies, its fleas can carry the infection to other warm-blooded animals or humans,” reads a statement put out Thursday by the state Department of Public Health.

The full story is here.

As is common in Yosemite, the media department there issued no reports nor offered any information, choosing instead to keep the public ignorant of the facts and danger. It is a long held rule in order to make Yosemite always appear a pristine paradise.

Photo: Josh DiMauro on Flickr