On the colloquially named "Frequently Asked Questions About Plague" page at the NPS page for Yosemite, I found the following:
http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/plague.htmLast update: August 6, 2015
On August 6, 2015, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced it is investigating a case of human plague in California and conducting an environmental evaluation in the Stanislaus National Forest, Yosemite National Park, and the surrounding areas. The department began investigating this incident after a child from Los Angeles County became ill and was hospitalized after visiting the Stanislaus National Forest and camping at Crane Flat Campground in Yosemite National Park in mid-July. No other members of the camping party reported symptoms and health officials are continuing to monitor the child's family and treatment providers. The child is recovering.
Is this so common and accepted that they just casually toss up a web page about it and that's pretty much all the concern it needs? I don't mean to be an alarmist, but since the only other time I've heard anything associated with the word plague was just after about 100 million people died... Well, the word just sort of stands out.
Is this sort of thing common in U.S. National Parks (or any other areas within the contiguous 48 states?)
Jeesh! And to think, Giardia, Crypto, Lyme, and maybe West-Nile (at a long shot) were all I ever considered to be bacterial or viral hazards. Wow!