China Issues Warnings About Possible Bubonic Plague Outbreak
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A hospital in Bayannur, Inner Mongolia reported a case of the bubonic plague, one of history’s deadliest diseases, last week. Chinese officials have since released a third-level alert, the second-lowest in a four-level warning system, and said it will be active till the end of this year.
A herdsman was confirmed with the disease on Sunday, but was in stable condition, and is currently getting treatment in hospital.
The Beijing Centre for Disease Prevention and Control warns travelers to avoid consuming wild animals and from staying out overnight in the grassland in the region, per South China Morning Post.
Chinese health officials have also urged people to report their travel history to the grasslands and inform doctors if they had any contact with wild animals in the rural areas.
Pang Xinghuo, vice director of the Beijing Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, reminded doctors and nurses to study the symptoms of the plague and prepare themselves for “accurate and timely diagnosis, and handling.”
According to the World Health Organization, the bubonic plague is one of the most common forms of plague. It is typically caused by the bite of a flea infected with the Yersinia pestis bacterium.
In Inner Mongolia, the hosts are usually noted to be marmots in rural areas and grasslands. However, the disease can be treated with antibiotics.
In the 14th century, the bubonic plague decimated at least one-third of the population in Europe during the Black Death. There was also an outbreak in the 19th century, which resulted in millions of deaths in China and India.
In recent years, there have been outbreaks of the plague in rural areas of China, which have seen 26 reported cases and 11 deaths from 2009 to 2018.
[via VICE, cover image via Shutterstock.com]
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