Overview

• El Dorado County and state health officials confirmed a bubonic plague infection in a South Lake Tahoe resident, likely contracted from an infected flea while camping.
• The patient is receiving care and recovering at home, and authorities have not released further identifying information.
• Wildlife surveillance indicates ongoing Yersinia pestis activity in the Tahoe Basin, including four plague‑positive rodents in 2025 after dozens of detections from 2021 to 2024.
• Public guidance urges avoiding contact with wild rodents, using DEET-based repellents, and keeping pets leashed and on veterinarian-recommended flea control.
• Plague averages about seven U.S. cases per year, with high risk if untreated but significantly lower mortality with early antibiotics; a separate pneumonic fatality was reported in Arizona last month.