China raises alarm as Bubonic plague breaks out

Authorities in Inner Mongolia, China have issued an alert after a hospital reported a case of suspected bubonic plague, a rare but serious bacterial infection that is transmitted by fleas from rodents. This comes while the World is still battling Coronavirus which first broke out from Wuhan in China.

The health committee of the city of Bayan Nur issued the third-level alert, the second-lowest in a four-level system, for plague prevention and control that will last till the end of 2020

The Bayannur municipal health commission said in a press release on Sunday night, July 5 that the people’s hospital in Urad Middle Banner reported the suspected bubonic plague case in local herdsman on Saturday, July 4.

The patient has been isolated and is receiving treatment in a local hospital, where is said to be stable.

The commission issued an advisory for residents in the area to prevent people-to-people infection including not to hunt and eat animals that could cause plague infections.

It asked the public to “report any findings of killed or dead marmots and other animals, and report suspected plague cases, high fever patients with unknown reasons and patients dying from sudden deaths”.

The warning follows four reported cases of plague in people from Inner Mongolia last November, including two of pneumonic plague, a deadlier variant of plague.

Bubonic plague is a rare but serious bacterial infection transmitted by fleas from rodents.

A person infected with bubonic plague will experience the following symptoms: swollen lymph nodes, which can be as large as chicken eggs, in the groin, armpit, or neck. Others include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and muscle aches.