YERSINIA PESTIS : THE CASE OF THE SQUIRREL WHO SHUT THE CAMPGROUND DOWN

 

One usually thinks of the plague as a disease long past, of horrible consequences, but nevertheless relegated to antiquity.  

But it is not.  It is still around and if not treated it can cause death.  

Just this week, a campground in the Los Angeles National Forest had to be shut down, because one squirrel tested positive for yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes the pest.  

The pestilence in fact uses rodents as a launching board.  The fleas that infest the rodents are actually the disease carriers. The rodents are just the vehicle.  Once a human is within range the flea jumps from animal to human. When it bites, the bacteria enters the bloodstream and soon produces the bubonic bumps that are the hallmark of the disease. 

 
It will take park authorities a week to sweep the campground and eliminate the infested rodents. 

No one so far has become ill with the plague. In Los Angeles, in fact there have been 4 cases of the plague in humans, but none were fatal due to prompt treatment. 

Source : NBC news/ 7.26.13