China issues health warning after suspected case of bubonic plague in Inner Mongolia

BEIJING, 07 July. - (ANA) - A health warning has been issued after China reported a suspected case of bubonic plague in Inner Mongolia.

The patient is a herdsman and the case was discovered in the city of Bayannur, state media reported.

He is said to be in a stable condition and remains in quarantine.

Authorities in the city issued a level 3 warning, the second-lowest in a four-tier alert system.

The alert forbids the hunting and eating of animals that could carry the plague.

It also asks the public to report any suspected cases of plague or fever with no clear causes. The public have also been asked to report any sick or death marmots.

In May last year, a couple died in Mongolia from bubonic plague after eating raw marmot. In 2018, a boy in the US contracted the disease.

Bubonic plague, one of the types of plague, causes swollen lymph nodes along with fever and coughing.

There were four reported human cases of plague in Inner Mongolia last November.

Between 2009 and 2018, China reported 26 cases of plague and 11 deaths.

The bubonic plague, known as the Black Death during the Middle Ages, is highly infectious and spread mostly by rodents.

The Black Death caused about 50 million deaths in Africa, Asia and Europe during the 14th century.   - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/07 July 2020 - - -