The county department of public health and the U.S. Forest Service have closed three loops of the Table Mountain Campgrounds in the Angeles National Forest after finding a ground squirrel with plague.
The Broken Blade, Twisted Arrow, and Pima Loops, near Wrightwood will be closed for at least a week, according to a press release. The areas were closed after a ground squrrel, trapped during routine survelliance activities, tested positive for plague Tuesday.
Campers have been notified and squirrel burrows are being dusted for fleas. Further testing of squirrels will be done before the area is re-opened.
Officials are advising that visitors to the forest should not feed wild animals, leave edible trash out where wild animals can get to it, avoid picnicking or camping in the immediate vicinity of ground squirrel burrows. and avoid taking pets into tareas wehre they could be exposed to fleas. If you must take your pet into areas with fleas, please ensure your pet has appropriate flea control and vaccinations, as recommended by a veterinarian. Officials are also adivsing that visitors to the forest use an insect repellent containing DEET, remembering that DEET products are not safe for use on pets.
Bubonic plague circulates mainly in fleas on small rodents. Without treatement, it can kill two thirds of infected humans within four days.
okay, that’s a bit of hyperbole at the end there. I have had bubonic plague (and yes, I got it from ground squirrel fleas… but I was working on relocating a ground squirrel colony at the time, so there were a lot of bites) and it wasn’t that bad. Good old penicillin knocks it right out. It was only so deadly in the Middle Ages because antibiotics had not been invented yet. Ground squirrels have been a plague reservoir in California for years, and there’s always a few people a year who get plague, mostly people working with wildlife.