Another Disease ‘Bubonic Plague’ Breaks Out In China Amid Coronavirus

Another disease ‘Bubonic Plague’ has been confirmed in China amid Coronavirus  (COVID-19) pandemic.

NewsOne Nigeria understands that Authorities in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia are on high alert after a suspected case of bubonic plague, the disease that caused the Black Death pandemic, was reported Sunday.

According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, the Bubonic Plague case was discovered in the city of Bayannur, located northwest of Beijing. The news agency said a hospital alerted municipal authorities of the patient’s case on Saturday.

On Sunday, local authorities issued a citywide Level 3 warning for plague prevention, the second-lowest in a four-level system. The warning will stay in place until the end of the year, Xinhua reported.

Cause of Bubonic Plague

Bubonic Plague, caused by bacteria and transmitted through flea bites and infected animals, is one of the deadliest bacterial infections in human history. During the Black Death in the Middle Ages, the disease killed an estimated 50 million people in Europe. Modern antibiotics can prevent complications and death if administered quickly enough.

Symptoms of Bubonic Plague

NewsOne Nigeria reports that Bubonic plague, which is one of plague’s three forms, causes painful, swollen lymph nodes, as well as fever, chills, and coughing, a situation which has seen Bayannur health authorities urging people to take extra precautions to minimize the risk of human-to-human transmission, and to avoid hunting or eating animals that could cause infection.

“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,” the local health authority said as reported by the state-run newspaper China Daily.

Bayannur authorities warned the public to report findings of dead or sick marmots — a type of large ground squirrel that is eaten in some parts of China and the neighbouring country Mongolia, which have historically caused plague outbreaks in the region.

Meanwhile, Bubonic Plague broke out in China at a time the world is still battling Coronavirus pandemic which emerged in Wuhan, China.