The Region : Plague in Animals Found

Los Angeles County residents are being warned to avoid contact with ground squirrels and coyotes because they have been found to have sylvatic plague, a disease that can result in deadly bubonic plague in humans. Ground squirrels collected at Chantry Flat and at the U.S. Forest Service information booth north of Azusa have confirmed cases of the disease, according to a spokesman for the Los Angeles Department of Health Services, which issued the warning. Four coyotes found within the Santa Anita flood debris basin have also shown positive results in testing for sylvatic plague. The disease, which affects wild animals, especially ground squirrels, is a bacterial infection that can be transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected flea.