The California Department of Public Health is investigating a second case of human plague reported by a person who visited California from Georgia. This unnamed person visited Yosemite National Park, the Sierra National Forest and surrounding areas.
The CDPH is working with Yosemite, the CDC and the National Forest Service to examine the locations visited by the person.
This is the second case of human plague with ties to Yosemite this year: A child who camped in Yosemite contracted the plague there in July. Soon after, the national park shut down a campsite for a week to treat fleas in rodent burrows.
Humans can get the plague after being bitten by a flea infected with the bacterium Yersini pestis, which causes the plague, or after handing an animal which had the plague, according to the CDC.
The CDPH reported that even though plague cases have been confirmed in wild rodents at two campsites within the park, "the risk to human health remains low."
Recent communications and warnings about the plague were what enabled the patient to seek medical care promptly and helped clinicians in Georgia make the right diagnosis quickly, according to the CDPH.