Beach on Lake Tahoe's south shore is closed down after chipmunks test positive ...

Beach on Lake Tahoe's south shore is closed down after chipmunks test positive ...
Beach on Lake Tahoe's south shore is closed down after chipmunks test positive ...

A beach on the south shore of Lake Tahoe in California has been closed to the public after a number of chipmunks tested positive for the plague, officials have said.

Kiva Beach, as well as the Taylor Creek Visitor Center, and their parking areas in South Lake Tahoe will remain closed until Friday while the Forest Service completes 'eradication treatments' like flea control. 

The areas will likely be reopened before the weekend, and the area's Tallac Historic site and the Kiva Picnic area and its parking lot will remain open.

The chipmunks which were found with traces of the disease had not come into contact with humans, El Dorado County spokesperson Carla Hass told the Tahoe Daily Tribune

The Taylor Creek Visitor Center, Kiva Beach and their parking areas in South Lake Tahoe will remain closed, while the Forest Service completes 'eradication treatments,' like flea control, which the agency said it aimed to do by Thursday

The Taylor Creek Visitor Center, Kiva Beach and their parking areas in South Lake Tahoe will remain closed, while the Forest Service completes 'eradication treatments,' like flea control, which the agency said it aimed to do by Thursday

The infected chipmunks were discovered by California's Vector-Borne Disease Section, which routinely captures and tests chipmunks, ground squirrels, mice and other rodents known to carry the plague (file image)

The infected chipmunks were discovered by California's Vector-Borne Disease Section, which routinely captures and tests chipmunks, ground squirrels, mice and other rodents known to carry the plague.

The infected chipmunks were discovered by California's Vector-Borne Disease Section, which routinely captures and tests chipmunks, ground squirrels, mice and other rodents known to carry the plague.

The infected chipmunks were discovered by California's Vector-Borne Disease Section, which routinely captures and tests chipmunks, ground squirrels, mice and other rodents known to carry the plague.

Although it is associated with the mass death of Europeans in the 14th century, plague control is a routine problem in California - the disease occurs naturally in the mountains and foothills of the state. 

According to the Associated Press, 20 rodents afflicted with the plague were discovered in the vicinity of Lake Tahoe between 2016 and 2019. 

The plague is also present and tested for in New Mexico, Arizona, southern Oregon, western Nevada and Colorado. 

One to 17 human cases are reported in the US each year, according to the Center for Disease Control. 

The last Californian to be diagnosed with the disease, according to the Tahoe Daily Tribune, contracted the plague in August of last year. El Dorado County officials said that they likely were bitten by a contagious flea while walking their dog along U.S. Highway 50 or in the vicinity of the Tahoe Keys.

The disease took the life of a 10-year-old in southwestern Colorado's La Plata

read more from dailymail.....

PREV England's Nike away kit outsells home strip for the first time ever trends now
NEXT Ron DeSantis signs bill allowing Florida stores to sell giant bottles of wine trends now