Health Watch: ‘Black Death’ Bubonic Plague may hit again, China on high alert

On Sunday, a city in northern China was on high alert after a case of Bubonic plague was reported on Saturday. The case was reported in the city of Bayannur located in the northwest of Beijing. According to state-run Xinhua news agency, By Sunday, authorities in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous region had issued a 3 level warning citywide for the prevention and control of the plague. The suspect was reported by a hospital in Bayannur on Saturday. And the local health authority also announced that the warning will continue until the end of 2020 as there will be a risk of spreading. “At present, there is a risk of a human plague epidemic spreading in this city. Public should improve its self-protection awareness and ability, and report abnormal health conditions promptly,” according to China Daily, a state-run newspaper.

On 1 July, Xinhua news agency reported that two suspected cases of the Bubonic plague were recorded in Khovd province in Western Mongolia and were confirmed by labs. The confirmed cases were a 27-year-old resident and his 17-year-old brother who were treated at different hospitals. The brothers had eaten marmot meat. After their case, the health officials urged people not to eat meat. So far, a total of 146 people who had been in contact with them have been isolated and are being treated at local hospitals.

Bubonic plague is one of the three types of plague caused by bacterium Yersinia Pestis. It is a rare but serious bacterial disease that is spread by fleas living on wild rodents such as marmots. According to the WHO, it can kill an adult in less than 24 hours if not treated in time. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms start to develop. The various symptoms of the disease include fever, headaches, fatigue, cough, and vomiting. Swollen and painful lymph nodes occur in the area closest to where the bacteria entered the skin.

The Black Death, also known as the Pestilence and the Great Mortality, the Bubonic Plague was the disease that caused Black Death, was the deadliest pandemic recorded in human history. The Black Death resulted in the deaths of up to 25–200 million people in Eurasia and North Africa, peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351. During the Late Middle Ages, The Black Death was the second disaster affecting Europe and 30% to 60% of Europe’s populations have been killed.  –The Policy Times