California Resident Tests Positive For Plague
The disease can be cured with antibiotics.
A resident in South Lake Tahoe, California, has tested positive for plague, according to local health officials.
The person is are believed to have been bitten by an infected flea while camping, officials said.
In a separate incident last month, a person in Arizona died from plague.
Plague is a disease caused by a type of bacteria that usually results in about seven cases nationally each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It occurs naturally in areas of the western U.S., where it circulates among wild rodents and other animals. Humans usually get infected through the bite of an infected rodent flea or by handling an infected animal.
The disease can be cured with antibiotics, which must be given quickly to prevent serious illness or death. At least 15 people have died from plague since 2000, the latest CDC data shows.
The risk to the public of exposure as well as the risk of human-to-human transmission remains low, according to health officials.
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