Chinese authorities confirm case of gland plague in Inner Mongolia-KEYT

In the Inner Mongolia region of China, cities are very vigilant. On Tuesday, they confirmed a case of illness It lasted for centuries after causing the most deadly pandemic in human history-the gland plague.

The case was first discovered in Bayanur city, northwest of Beijing, according to state management Xinhua News Agency.. The hospital warned city officials of the suspect’s case on Saturday. By Sunday, local authorities had issued a Level 3 warning throughout the city to prevent plague. This is the second lowest level in a 4-level system.

According to Xinhua, the warning will continue until the end of the year.

The case was confirmed by a doctor on Tuesday and formally diagnosed. The patient has been isolated and treated in the hospital and is in a stable condition, Xinhua reported.

Plague was caused by bacteria, transmitted through fleas, bites and infected animals, killing an estimated 50 million people in Europe during the Medieval Black Death pandemic. Modern antibiotics, if given quickly enough, can prevent complications and death.

Glandular plague, one of the three forms of plague, causes painful swelling of lymph nodes, fever, chills, and cough.

The Bayan Nur health authorities are currently instructing people to take additional precautions to minimize the risk of person-to-person transmission and to avoid hunting, skinning, or feeding of animals that may cause the transmission. I am asking for.

“Now there is a risk of human plague in this city. According to state newspapers, the public needs to raise awareness and capacity for self-defense and report abnormal health conditions quickly. China Daily..

Bayanur authorities report finding a dead or sick marmot-a type of large ground squirrel that has been eaten in some parts of China and in neighboring Mongolia and has historically caused plague outbreaks in this area. Generally warned you to do so.

Marmot is believed to have caused the 1911 pulmonary plague epidemic that killed approximately 63,000 people in northeastern China. It was hunted for its fur and soared in popularity among international traders. Diseased fur products were traded and shipped nationwide.

Although the epidemic was contained within a year, marmot-associated plague infections have continued for decades. Last week, two cases of glandular plague were confirmed in Mongolia. Brothers who both ate marmot meat, According to Xinhua..

On Monday, authorities identified another suspected case of gland plague in Mongolia — a 15-year-old who ate a marmot. Xinhua.

Last May, a Mongolian couple Died of a gland plague After eating the raw kidneys of marmots, it is considered a folk remedy for good health. 2 more Lung plague-another disease that infects the lungs-crossed the Inner Mongolia’s Chinese border a few months later.

Why plague is still a problem?

With the advent of antibiotics that can be treated when most infections are detected early, plague outbreaks are prevented, preventing the rapid spread of the types found in medieval Europe.

“Pest causes a serious illness, but if it’s immediately recognized, it can be easily treated with antibiotics and the patient can fully recover,” says Jimmy Witt, a public health professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Worth said. “Reports suggest that this is currently the case in Inner Mongolia and there is no risk to public health.”

Dr Michael Head, senior researcher for global health at the University of Southampton, said the case was “concerned within Inner Mongolia.”

“But it won’t pose the global threat we’ve seen at Covid-19,” he added.

However, while modern medicine can cure plague, it has not completely eliminated it. And with a recent resurgence, the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified plague as a re-emerging disease.

According to the WHO, 1,000 to 2,000 people get plague every year. But since we haven’t considered the unreported cases, the sum is probably too conservative.

According to 2016 data, the potential for plague is present on almost every continent, especially in the western United States, parts of Brazil, scattered regions of southeastern Africa, and large belts of China, India and the Middle East.

The three most prevalent nations, meaning the lasting plague, are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, and Peru.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, several to dozens of plagues occur in the United States each year. In 2015, two people died of plague in Colorado, and eight years ago the state reported eight cases.

However, unless you live in many of the wild rodents that carry the disease, your chances of getting it in the United States are low.

Untreated gland plague turns into the more deadly lung plague, which quickly develops pneumonia after the bacteria have spread to the lungs.

This story has been updated.