Second Yosemite tourist diagnosed with plague

A recent visitor to Yosemite National Park has been diagnosed with what is believed to be the plague, state health officials said Tuesday, the second such case in as many months.

The patient, who was not identified, visited California from Georgia in early August, with stops in Yosemite and the Sierra National Forest, officials said. The person is being treated in Georgia.

A child from Los Angeles County who visited Yosemite was diagnosed with the plague in July, the first reported case of the disease in the state since 2006. The child is recovering, health officials said.

The plague is carried by squirrels, chipmunks, other small rodents and their fleas. More than 300 campsites at the Tuolumne Meadows campground in Yosemite were closed Monday after two squirrels died of plague in the area.

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