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Los Angeles campground closed due to plague outbreak among squirrels
In something that sounds like a low-budget Hollywood horror movie, the Los Alamos Campground in the massive Angeles National Forest has been closed and will remain so for a lease eight days. This comes as wildlife officials investigate reports that a squirrel found in the area tested positive for the plague.
Look, "journalist", there are things in life that don't involve movies. The fact that that's all you can think of speaks volumes about how ignorant you are.
The CDC has a page on the plague. I found it by googling 'Los Angeles bubonic plague'. On this page the CDC has the entire western half of the United States marked as a region where plague occurs in animals... and where 10-15 cases of plague are treated in humans every year. Of course, I'm merely a little suburban housewife rather than a trained journalist, so quite probably I'm not doing this background research thingy right.
The campground will remain closed while animal experts comb the forest and dust squirrel burrows with flea killer, as it is actually the insects that transmit the disease not the squirrels themselves.

Although a concern, public health officials from Los Angeles County said that there is no need for panic as their have only been four cases of the plague in humans in Los Angeles County in the last 25 years. None of those proved to be deadly.

The park itself will remain open and wildlife experts say visitors must avoid the burrows of animals such as squirrels and chipmunks and other rodents. They advise that visitors should also make sure to use plenty of insect repellent.
Posted by: gromky 2010-07-08
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=300570