Bubonic plague has hit two villages in Inner Mongolia, with two residents confirmed to have died of the centuries-old disease. The bubonic plague was responsible for one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, killing 50 million people.
These are the second and third cases, and the first two deaths, of bubonic plague that China has confirmed this year.
The residents in question died from circulatory system failure, according to a statement from Baotou’s Municipal Health Commission.
The first death was first reported to health authorities in the city of Baotou on Sunday and then it was confirmed that it was the death of a bubonic plague patient on Thursday.
Baotou’s Municipal Health Committee said nine close contacts and 26 secondary contacts of the first patient were quarantined and tested negative so far.
Read more: China bubonic plague spreads: Second village SEALED OFF
Can Bubonic Plague Be Healed?
Despite the fear associated with the bubonic plague, the nasty disease can indeed be treated and cured today.
Patients who develop bubonic plague are hospitalized and treated with antibiotics.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for anyone suspected of having bubonic plague, laboratory tests will be done, including blood cultures for plague bacteria and microscopic examination of lymph nodes, blood and sputum samples.
Antibiotic treatment should start as soon as possible after laboratory specimens have been taken.
With antibiotics, most people begin to recover within a week or two.
Bubonic plague is the most common type, however, there are two other pests today.
These are septicemic plague and pneumonic plague – and are both more deadly than the bubonic plague.
Septicemic plague is the most dangerous of the three and is when the bacteria in the blood is moved.
Symptoms include
- Bleeding under the skin or out of the mouth, nose, or bottom
- Blackened skin, especially on the nose, fingers and toes
- Bay pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and shock
Pneumonic plague is when the bacteria in the lungs is moved and is the rarest of the three plagues.
This strain is deadly without treatment and is also highly contagious because the plague can spread through the air when a person coughs.
Symptoms of pneumonic plague include:
- Cough, sometimes with blood
- Problems with breathing
- Nausea and vomiting
Due to treatment and prevention, cases of the plague are now rare, with only a few thousand people around the world being diagnosed there every year.
Most of the cases are in Africa (especially the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar), India and Peru.
