How to avoid getting the plague

• Never feed squirrels, chipmunks or other rodents and never touch sick or dead rodents.
• Don't walk or camp near rodent burrows.
• Wear long pants tucked into socks or boot tops to prevent flea bites.
• Use insect repellent (containing the chemical DEET) on skin and clothing, especially socks and pant cuffs.
• Keep wild rodents out of homes, trailers, and outbuildings, and away from pets.

Once known as the Black Death, plague still exists in parts of the US southwest, but is pretty rare (only about 7 Americans get the disease per year).

The second Yosemite case is the fourth one in the US in recent months. A child is recovering from the disease after contracting it on a visit to Crane Flat National Campground in Yosemite. Earlier this month, a woman died of plague in a rural part of Colorado's Pueblo County, and a Colorado teen died of the disease in June.

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