South Lake Tahoe resident tests positive for bubonic plague

A resident of South Lake Tahoe has tested positive for bubonic plague after a likely flea bite while camping, county health officials confirmed. The individual has received medical care and is recovering at home, and public health authorities are investigating the exposure. Officials emphasized that plague remains rare in the United States but is naturally present in rodent populations across parts of the West.

Kyle Fliflet, El Dorado County acting director of public health, said, "Plague is naturally present in many parts of California, including higher elevation areas of El Dorado County." Local health teams have been notified and the county conducts routine surveillance of rodent populations to detect plague activity. Records show the county identified 41 rodents with evidence of exposure to the plague bacterium from 2021 to 2024 and four additional positive detections in the Tahoe Basin this year.

Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and most U.S. cases occur in western states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports an average of about seven human cases nationwide each year. Most infections are the bubonic form, which produces fever, weakness and...