Highlights:
- Bubonic Plague case reported in Bayannur in Inner Mongolia, China
- A citywide Level 3 warning for plague prevention has been issued
- Centuries ago this disease caused the “Black Death” pandemic
The Chinese region of inner Mongolia are now put on high alert as a suspected case of the Bubonic Plague, the disease which caused the “Black Death” pandemic centuries ago, was reported on Sunday.
The case was reported in the city of Bayannur which is located NorthWest of Beijing as per the Xinhua news agency which is run by the government.
Municipal Authorities were alerted by a hospital about the patient’s case on Saturday. On Sunday the local authorities issued a citywide Level 3 warning for the prevention of this plague, the second-lowest in a Four Level system.
According to Xinhua, the level-3 warning will stay in place until the end of 2020.
The plague which is caused by bacteria and transmitted through flea bites and infected animals is amongst the deadliest bacterial infections known to human history. During the “Black Death” pandemic in the Middle Ages, it had killed around 50 million or 5 crore people in Europe alone.
Bubonic plague, which is one of the 3 forms of the plague, causes swollen, painful lymph nodes along with fever, coughs and chills.
The health authorities of Bayannur are urging the people to take extra precautions to contain and minimise the spread of the bacterial infection which can easily take place from person-to-person contact. The health authorities have also asked the locals to avoid hunting and/ or eating animals which could cause the infection.
According to the state-run newspaper named China Daily, the local health authorities said, “At present, there is a risk of a human plague epidemic spreading in this city. The public should improve its self-protection awareness and ability and report abnormal health conditions promptly,”.
Bayannu authorities have also warned the public to report any findings or sick or dead marmot – a type of large ground squirrel which is eaten in some parts of China and neighbouring Mongolia – which has caused the plague outbreaks in the past in this region.
Last week, 2 cases of Bubonic plague were confirmed in Mongolia according to Xinhua, both brothers had eaten marmot meat.
It was reported that last May, a couple in Mongolia died from the bubonic plague after they ate the raw kidney of a marmot, which is taken to be a folk remedy for good health. Two more people got pneumonic plague – another form of this disease, which infects the lungs –months later across the border in Inner Mongolia.
