Plague Fears Again Close Campground

A Lockwood Valley campground has been closed for the second year in a row after biologists found rodents infected with the plague.

The Chuchupate Campground in Los Padres National Forest was also closed by health officials in 1993 after wild animals there were found to be carrying plague bacteria.

Now officials have renewed the ban after finding plague bacteria in blood samples taken from rodents that were trapped as part of an ongoing disease-monitoring program, said Randall Smith of the county Environmental Health Division.

“Ventura County is known as an endemic county for plague in wild rodents,” said Smith, an environmental health specialist. “We know it’s here and we just try and monitor it in the areas where people can come in contact with wild rodents, such as campgrounds.”

The plague bacteria found at Chuchupate in Lockwood Valley are the same type that killed millions of Europeans in the Middle Ages, Smith said.

But nowadays, he said, plague-infected people can be cured easily with antibiotics--if the symptoms are recognized and treated in time.

The most common form, called bubonic plague, is spread by the bites of animals or the fleas that infest them. The name comes from the word buboes , for the large balls that form on the lymph nodes as the organs try to fight the infection.

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A rarer form known as pneumonic plague, spread by particles in the air such as those emitted by a sneeze or cough of an infected animal, kills its victims much more rapidly.

Only two people are known to have ever survived pneumonic plague, said Charles Myers, supervising biologist of a California Department of Health Services lab that studies animal- and insect-borne diseases.

“It’s not easy to get, but you still don’t want to get it,” Myers said of all forms of plague. “As one of the survivors of pneumonic plague told us, ‘I’d never want to do that again.’ ”

Plague victims suffer symptoms such as those of a harsh flu--high fever, severe muscle aches, nausea and painful or swollen lymph nodes.

Common sense is the best defense, officials say.

“When you’re camping, avoid areas where you see squirrel burrows--putting your sleeping bag out on the ground where you see squirrel burrows is asking for a fleabite,” Myers said. “And taking your pets camping with you is asking for a fleabite. Your dog sticks his nose in a squirrel burrow and the fleas are all waiting there, and they’ll jump on him.”

It is not unusual for biologists to find plague bacteria in about 20 counties across California each year, he said.

The state health department screens for plague bacteria in thousands of blood and tissue samples taken every year in the parks, forests and farms of California, said department spokesman Ken Townzen.

Lab technicians have found about 100 samples that tested positive for plague so far this year--a rate that could surpass 1993’s total of about 150 positive tests, he said.

“We find it as far north as Alpine and Eldorado County, all the way down to San Bernardino County in the south,” Townzen said.

In Ventura County, biologists have focused much of their trapping and testing this year on Lockwood Valley. They trapped 56 animals there in June, of which two--a wood rat and a ground squirrel--were found to be carrying plague bacteria, Smith said.

They also trapped and tested animals in the Pine Mountain area, where plague-bearing animals were found three years ago. But this year no trace of plague was found there, he said.

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Budget cuts and busy state labs restrict county biologists to only 100 plague sample tests each year, he said. “We try and pick areas that the public will possibly come in contact with the wild rodent population,” he said, such as campgrounds and ranches.

Smith said biologists also have been testing trapped mice for evidence of hantavirus, a disease carried in the animals’ dried feces and urine that can kill its victims in a matter of days. They are still awaiting results from those tests, he said.

As for the plague, Smith said, “It’s curable if diagnosed early, but if you don’t get to the doctor on time or it’s not caught in time, it can be a life-threatening disease.”

Avoiding the Plague

Plague bacteria carried by rats and fleas killed millions of Europeans in the Middle Ages. Plague is curable today with antibiotics, but it can be fatal if its flu-like symptoms are misdiagnosed. Rural residents and nature lovers should follow these rules:

* STAY AWAY from chipmunks, squirrels and other wild animals. Do not feed them.

* DO NOT camp, rest or sleep near animal burrows, and avoid fleas.

* PROTECT PETS with flea powder or collars.

* DO NOT touch sick or dead animals. Report them to park, campground or local health authorities.

* SEE A DOCTOR if you get sick within one week of visiting rural Ventura County. The symptoms of plague are high fever, severe muscle aches, nausea and painful or swollen lymph nodes.

Source: Ventura County Environmental Health Division