A pastor in Inner Mongolia was confirmed to be infected with bubonic plague, Chinese health officials said, a reminder of how, even as the world battles a pandemic caused by a new virus, old threats persist.
The Bayannur City Health Commission said the plague was diagnosed in the pastor on Sunday and that he was in stable condition and was receiving treatment in a hospital.
The commission also issued a third-level alert, the second lowest in a four-tier system, warning people against hunting, feeding or transporting potentially infected animals, particularly groundhogs, and to report any dead rodents. or sick.
The city government said it had implemented pest prevention measures that would remain in place for the rest of the year.
The disease, which caused Black Death in the Middle Ages, is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria and is spread by fleas that become infected with rodents. In Inner Mongolia, the hosts are often groundhogs living in rural areas.
In November, Beijing officials said two people from Inner Mongolia were found to have pneumonic plague, another form of plague caused by the same bacteria. Pneumonic plague is the only form that can be transmitted from person to person, through respiratory droplets.
If left untreated, pneumonic plague is invariably fatal, while bubonic plague is fatal in about 30 to 60 percent of untreated cases, according to the World Health Organization. Antibiotics can cure the disease if given early.
The neighboring country of Mongolia also announced on Monday that it had lifted restrictions in Khovd province after two cases of bubonic plague related to the consumption of groundhog meat were reported two weeks ago. Health officials said the patients’ conditions had improved, news site Ikon.mn reported.
Plague cases are found in limited numbers in much of the world. In the United States, about seven cases are reported, usually the bubonic form, on average each year, most often in rural areas of the western states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
