![]() ![]() ![]() Public health officials and park staff work together on a regular surveillance program to monitor rodent populations in the park for signs of plague infection or the presence of plague-carrying fleas. People who develop these symptoms should seek immediate medical attention and notify their healthcare provider that they have been camping or out in the wilderness and have been exposed to rodents and fleas. Pneumonic plague is the only form that can be spread for person to person. Patients with pneumonic plague have difficulty breathing, develop a cough, and may spit up blood-tinged saliva. ![]() Pneumonic plague is an infection of the lungs that can follow bubonic or septicemic plague, or occur directly from inhalation of plague bacteria. Skin and other tissues, particularly on the fingers, toes, and/or nose, may turn back and die. ![]() In septicemic plague, plague bacteria infect the bloodstream, causing high fever, fatigue, weakness, and bleeding disorders. Bubonic plague, the most common form, is characterized by swollen and tender lymph nodes (called "buboes") in the groin, neck, or armpit. Generally, the initial symptoms of plague develop two to six days after exposure and include nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, muscle aches, headache, and weakness. There are three main forms of plague: bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic. However, during 2015, 16 human plague cases were reported. In a typical year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports about ten cases of plague in humans per year in the western United States. Plague is widespread in much of California, including in the Sierra Nevada mountains and foothills. Domestic cats and sometimes dogs are susceptible to plague infection and can transmit the disease to their owners if not treated promptly. The rodents most commonly associated with plague in Yosemite are ground squirrels and chipmunks, but any mammal can potentially be infected. Occasionally, it is transmitted through contact with tissues from an infected animal, or rarely through contact with infectious respiratory droplets, from coughing or sneezing. Plague is most commonly transmitted by the bite of an infected flea. Plague is a rare but serious disease that humans can contract from infected rodents or their fleas. ![]()
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