Foreign Property News | Posted by Zarni Kyaw
Authorities in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia have issued an early epidemic warning after a resident contracted bubonic plague.
Bubonic plague, known as the 'Black Death' in the Middle Ages, is one of the most devastating diseases in history, having killed around 100million people in the 14th century.
The confirmed plague case has sparked fears of a new wave of virus outbreak erupting in China when the country is still battling the coronavirus.
But experts have claimed that the disease, which usually affects wild rodents and is spread by infected fleas, will not become a global health threat like COVID-19.
Authorities in Bayan Nur in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia has issued a warning on Sunday.
A local hospital in the city of Bayan Nur alerted the municipal authorities of a suspected plague patient on Saturday, according to the local health commission.
The government immediately issued a citywide level three warning for epidemic control, the second-lowest in a four-level system.
Level three warning is announced in China when a city has detected between one to 20 cases of an infectious disease.
The patient, who remains unidentified, was later diagnosed with bubonic plague, according to a government notice.
The official alert forbids the hunting and eating of animals that could carry plague.
Plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which is carried by fleas and transmitted between animals.
The bubonic plague - the most common form - is caused by the bite of an infected flea and can spread through contact with infectious bodily fluids or contaminated materials.
Patients may show signs of fever and nausea and at an advanced stage may develop open sores filled with pus.
It devastated Europe in the Middle Ages, most notably in the Black Death of the 1340s which killed a third or more of the continent's population.
After the Black Death plague became a common phenomenon in Europe, with outbreaks recurring regularly until the 18th century.
When the Great Plague of 1665 hit, a fifth of people in London died, with victims shut in their homes and red crosses painted on the door.
It is now treatable with antibiotics, as long as they are administered quickly.
From 2010 to 2015 there were 3,248 cases reported worldwide, including 584 deaths, says the World Health Organisation.
Ref: Daily Mail
