13 Aug 2023

China's Inner Mongolia reports two cases of bubonic plague

7:26 pm on 13 August 2023
This flea preserved about 20 million years ago in amber may carry evidence of an ancestral strain of the bubonic plague. (Photo by George Poinar, Jr., courtesy of OSU)

Photo: (Photo by George Poinar, Jr., courtesy of OSU)

China's northern region of Inner Mongolia reported two cases of bubonic plague on Saturday, following a previous infection that was detected on 7 August, the local government said.

The two people infected are the husband and daughter of the previous case, the government said in a statement on its website.

All close contacts have been quarantined and have shown no abnormal symptoms, according to the statement.

Cases of bubonic plague infection, a highly infectious disease that is spread mostly by rodents, are low in China, with most found in Inner Mongolia and northwestern Ningxia region in recent years.

Bubonic plague is the most common form of plague, which can be fatal if not treated in time, according to the World Health Organisation.

- This story was originally published by Reuters

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