An outbreak of the bubonic plague reported early July in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has worsened, with local authorities quarantining an entire village after a resident died from the infectious and deadly disease.
This is the first death from bubonic plague China has confirmed this year.
Quarantined was Suji Xincun village outside Baotou city (Inner Mongolia's largest city) where the deceased lived. The Baotou Municipal Health Commission said this person died of circulatory system failure caused by bubonic plague. It didn't say how this person became infected with the disease.
Local authorities also ordered daily disinfection of homes in the village. All villagers have so far tested negative for the disease, said a statement from the local government. The commission said nine close contacts and 26 secondary contacts of the dead person were quarantined and tested negative.
The commission placed Damao Banner, the district where Suji Xincun village is located on Level 3 alert for plague prevention until the end of the year. Baotou authorities on Thursday warned about the risk of "a human plague epidemic spreading in the city." It urged people to take extra precautions and seek immediate medical aid if they develop bubonic plague symptoms such as fever or coughing.
They again urged people to avoid hunting, skinning or eating wild animals, which is the main cause of bubonic plague infection. Wild marmots (a large ground squirrel) caused previous bubonic plague infections in China.
There were two confirmed cases of bubonic plague in Mongolia in July. The outbreak in July took place in Bayannur, another city in Inner Mongolia, which was placed under a Level 3 alert. Infected were two brothers who both ate marmot meat.
In May 2019, a couple in Mongolia died from bubonic plague after eating the raw kidney of a marmot. Marmots are believed to have caused the 1911 pneumonic plague epidemic, which killed about 63,000 people in northeast China.
Mongolia seems to be a center for bubonic plague in China. On July 1, two suspected cases of bubonic plague were reported in Khovd province in western Mongolia. These cases were later confirmed by lab tests. Khovd lies 1,500 km to the northwest of Bayannur.
The bubonic plague caused the horrific Black Death that killed up to 60% of Europe's population in the 14th century. In this case, the plague was carried by infected fleas in rats.
China reported 31 cases of bubonic plague between 2009 and 2019, including 12 deaths, according to data from the National Health Commission (NHC).
