Bubonic plague in China and Mongolia: is there a new pandemic?

Russian authorities have warned residents of regions bordering Mongolia not to whistle, but emphasized that there is no danger of the disease spreading across the border if a bubonic plague is found in a neighboring country.

Russian health services appealed to residents of the mountainous regions of Tuva and Altai after two cases of bubonic plague in Mongolia were confirmed last week. Both patients are siblings who ate meat from a hunted whistle.

The report of the services of the Republic of Tuva urges the population to be vigilant and “refrain from hunting whistles, as well as not eating whistling meat.”

In the Altai region, which also borders Mongolia, officials handed out leaflets to locals warning of a possible threat, the state newspaper Rossijskaya Gazeta reported Monday.

The situation in the Altai Kosh Agach district is particularly closely monitored. The area has been known as a natural outbreak of plague since the 1960s, and the whistle is officially banned.

At the start of the hunting season in the Altai region, 18,000 people had been vaccinated against the plague. people, of which 16.5 thousand. – Kos Aghacho district.

According to the BBC’s Russian-language news service, bubonic plague is caused by bacteria. Yersinia pestis, which is found in rodent organisms and fleas that live in them.

From person to person, the disease is transmitted mainly by air droplets.

Black Death Rampage

The name of the disease comes from the bubbles: painful dilated dark red lymph nodes in the groin and armpits.

In addition to bubonic plague, there is also lung plague. The latter is more contagious and, of course, more dangerous.

According to the BBC’s Russian news service website, the plague almost inevitably caused a rapid death before antibiotics appeared.

However, in our time, if treatment is not delayed, antibiotics can successfully overcome it.

Most important is early diagnosis based on blood and tissue tests.

In the Middle Ages, plague epidemics struck every few decades.

There were also several pandemics: Justinian’s plague in the 6th century and the Black Death in the 14th century.

It is estimated that around 25 million people could have died in Europe. persons.

For example, the plague epidemic that struck Lithuania in 1710 claimed thousands of lives in Vilnius alone..

In 2010-2015, 3,248 plague cases were recorded worldwide. 584 patients died.

The last plague death in China was recorded in July 2014 in Gansu province.

The last time an outbreak was recorded was in Madagascar. In November 2017, 2,348 people became ill with the plague on this Indian Ocean island, 202 of them died.

The last time an outbreak was recorded was in Madagascar. In November 2017, 2,348 people became ill with the plague on this Indian Ocean island, 202 of them died.

Egg-sized bubbles

Symptoms of bubonic plague generally occur 2 to 6 days after infection, according to an article from the BBC’s Russian service.

In addition to bubbles, which can be the size of a chicken egg, patients suffer from high fever, chills, headaches and muscle aches, and general weakness.

The plague damages the lungs, causing cough, chest pain, and difficulty breathing.

Bacteria enter the circulatory system. This can lead to sepsis and organ failure.

How is plague spread?

The main sources of infection are flea bites, physical contact with bacterial animals, especially rats, mice, and rays, and respiration of infected humans or animals.

The BBC Russia News Service website says dogs and cats become infected with the plague by biting fleas or eating a rotten rodent.

A person can also become infected with the blood of a sick animal if it enters the body through a scratch on the skin.

The body of a person who died from a plague can also be a source of infection.

The body of a person who died from a plague can also be a source of infection.

Spread prevented

Plague outbreaks still exist in some parts of the world.

Outbreaks have been reported in recent years in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Madagascar.

There, the spread of the plague was successfully halted, according to a BBC news service in Russian.

“It is good that in this case too, the disease was detected at an early stage, the patient was isolated, treatment was started and the spread of fever was prevented,” said Dr. Matthew Dryden, consultant-microbiologist at the Southampton University.

He explained that, unlike COVID-19, bubonic plague is not caused by a virus but by bacteria. The disease is effectively treated with antibiotics.

“Despite the worrying external resemblance to the emergence of a new infectious threat in the East, there is reason to believe that this is an isolated case that will soon end,” the expert said.

Despite the worrying external resemblance to the emergence of a new infectious threat in the East, there is reason to believe that this is an isolated case that will soon be concluded.