China: Third confirmed case of bubonic plague reported from Inner Mongolia

A fresh confirmed case of the bubonic plague was reported from China's Inner Mongolia on November 17 despite an earlier declaration by the health officials that the risk of the outbreak was minimal. According to the health commission of the region, a 55-year-old man was diagnosed with the disease after he ate the meat of a wild rabbit last week. Bubonic plaque is also the most common form of plague in the world which eventually spreads to the lungs leading to a more severe form of pneumonic plaque according to the World Health Organisation. 

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Third confirmed case of bubonic plague

The recent case reported from Inner Mongolia is the third of such disease, two others were confirmed earlier this month in Beijing. The other two patients also belong to Inner Mongolia and the health authorities said that time that the patients were undergoing treatment in medical facilities in Beijing's Chaoyang district after beeing detected with the severe stage of pneumonic plague. However, according to the health officials, no link has been found between the recent case with the earlier cases in the country. The third patient with the disease has also being treated at a hospital in Ulanqab in isolation along with 28 other people who were in immediate contact with the patient. 

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Rodent population in Inner Mongolia

As per reports, the rodent population has increased in Inner Mongolia after prolonged droughts which have been severe due to climate crisis. Even though outbreaks in China are rare, large parts of the northwestern city of Yumen were sealed off in 2014 after a 38-year-old resident died of the bubonic plague known as 'Black Death' in the middle Ages and is also caused by the same bacterium. Most people are seen worried by the late disclosure of the disease and rumours have also started about the outbreak by the online commentators. A widely circulated post which now has been deleted by a doctor at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital said that she was among the first doctors who treated the two patients last week and the public confirmation of the case came a week later. 

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(With agency inputs)