Newsmax

Los Angeles health officials closed a popular campground on Wednesday after a squirrel tested positive for the Black Death plague.
Three trails at the Table Mountain Campgrounds near Wrightwood in the Angeles National Forest were shut down after the body of a ground squirrel was found to contain the bacteria.
“We found one today that in fact had the plague,” Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding, the county’s Director of Public Health, told NBC Los Angeles. “Blood [tests] showed exposure to plague and it had something like 12 fleas on it.”
The plague spreads from human to human through bites from infected fleas, and though the Black Death plague killed millions in the 14th and 15th centuries, it can be easily treated with antibiotics now.
“It is important for the public to know that there have only been four cases of human plague in Los Angeles County residents since 1984, none of which were fatal,” Fielding said.
The U.S. Forest Service plans to keep the campgrounds closed for seven days, and advises everyone to take the proper precautions in the meantime to avoid infection.

My comment:  Notice how they always add a note at the end that say’s nothing to see here, everything is fine, move along.  Well remember this, it’s a photo of a man who survived the plague.  I haven’t seen any pictures of him recently to know the lasting effects but this is very serious and nothing to joke about.

Photo by ABC News/Click to read article

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