A child has contracted the plague after a trip to a national park in California.

The child was reportedly visiting a campsite at Yosemite Park in mid-July and was hospitalised shortly after. Test results on the child came back positive for the disease on Wednesday.

Authorities are now monitoring the child’s family and treatment providers.

The case comes as the third suspected case of the disease in the United States this year, after two people died earlier this year in Colorado. There were eight cases of the plague in Colorado in 2014. The most recent reported case in California was in 2006.

There are several strands of the disease, including the most commonly known bubonic plague, and officials were not specific on which one the child had contracted.

The disease is typically treatable with antibiotics and antimicrobials. Since 1972 there have been 40 cases in the US, of which nine were fatal.

“Human cases of plague are rare, with the last reported human infection in California occurring in 2006,” Dr. Karen Smith of the California Department of Public Health said.

“Although this is a rare disease, people should protect themselves from infection by avoiding any contact with wild rodents. Never feed squirrels, chipmunks, or other rodents in picnic or campground areas, and never touch sick or dead rodents. Protect your pets from fleas and keep them away from wild animals,” she added.

The plague is typically carried on infected animals and their fleas. Last year the California Department of Health detected non-human plague ins even counties of the state.