Two people from China-Mongolia border are infected with plague

Two people in China are infected with the PLAGUE six months after two others died from bubonic form linked to the Black Death

  • Two people from northern China have been diagnosed with pneumonic plague
  • The form of plague is different to bubonic plague which caused the Black Death
  • News comes after a Mongolian couple died of the Black Death plague in April
  • Doctors in Beijing have taken ‘preventive measures’ and are treating the patients

Two people living near the Chinese border with Mongolia have been diagnosed with pneumonic plague six months after another couple in the region died of bubonic plague, which caused the Black Death in the Middle Ages.

The two patients, from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, are being treated in Beijing and the authorities have taken ‘preventive measures’, according to the government.

Pneumonic plague is spread differently to the bubonic form, which is responsible for the Black Death in Europe in the 14th century.

Two people from China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (pictured) have been diagnosed with pneumonic plague and are being treated in Beijing, according to the government

The two patients live in Sonid Left Banner of Xilingol League in northern China near Mongolia

The two patients live in Sonid Left Banner of Xilingol League in northern China near Mongolia

This form of plague, a lung-based plague, can be spread through coughing, sneezing or spitting and kill within 24 hours. 

Bubonic plague is the most common form of plague globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The disease is caused by the bite of an infected flea. 

The two patients’ conditions were confirmed yesterday by doctors in Beijing, a statement from the city’s Chaoyang District said.

They live in Sonid Left Banner of Xilingol League, one of the 12 leagues in Inner Mongolia, according to the notice.

WHO said they had been notified of the cases by the Chinese health authorities. 

‘The National Health Commission is implementing efforts to contain and treat the identified cases, and increasing surveillance,’ a WHO spokesperson said. 

Chinese authorities have indicated that close contacts of the infected people are being screened and managed, the spokesperson added. 

Pneumonic plague is strikingly different to the bubonic form, which is responsible for the Black Death and wiped out millions in Europe in the Middle Ages. Pneumonic plague, a lung-based plague, can be spread through coughing, sneezing or spitting and kill within 24 hours.

Pneumonic plague is strikingly different to the bubonic form, which is responsible for the Black Death and wiped out millions in Europe in the Middle Ages. Pneumonic plague, a lung-based plague, can be spread through coughing, sneezing or spitting and kill within 24 hours.

The news came after a Mongolian copule were killed by the Black Death plague in April.  The couple died after eating after eating raw marmot kidney in a folklore for good health

The news came after a Mongolian copule were killed by the Black Death plague in April.  The couple died after eating after eating raw marmot kidney in a folklore for good health

A Mongolian couple were killed by the Black Death plague at the end of April after eating raw marmot kidney – a local folklore believed to be capable of delivering good health. 

The ethnic Kazakh couple died near Mongolia’s western border with Russia and China.

The occurrence of plague has been increasing rapidly in China since the 1990s, according to a WHO report.

Fewer than 10 human cases were reportedly per year in the 1980s while the figure jumped to 100 cases in 1996 alone.

A total of 631 human cases were reported in the country between 1995 and 2004, with a fatality rate of 6.67 per cent.

The Black Death wiped out millions of people in the Middle Ages, but cases are now very rare.

Its most common form is bubonic, which is spread by fleas and causes swelling of the lymph node. 

The more virulent form is pneumonic plague, which can be transmitted between humans through coughing.

BUBONIC PLAGUE: WIPED OUT A THIRD OF EUROPE IN THE 14TH CENTURY 

Bubonic plague is one of the most devastating diseases in history, having killed around 100million people during the ‘Black Death’ in the 14th century.

Drawings and paintings from the outbreak, which wiped out about a third of the European population, depict town criers saying ‘bring out your dead’ while dragging trailers piled with infected corpses.

It is caused by a bacterium known as Yersinia pestis, which uses the flea as a host and is usually transmitted to humans via rats.

The disease causes grotesque symptoms such as gangrene and the appearance of large swellings on the groin, armpits or neck, known as ‘buboes’.

It kills up to two thirds of sufferers within just four days if it is not treated, although if antibiotics are administered within 24 hours of infection patients are highly likely to survive.

After the Black Death arrived in 1347 plague became a common phenomenon in Europe, with outbreaks recurring regularly until the 18th century.

Bubonic plague has almost completely vanished from the rich world, with 90 per cent of all cases now found in Africa.

However, there have been a few non-fatal cases in the U.S. in recent years, while in August 2013 a 15-year-old boy died in Kyrgyzstan after eating a groundhog infected with the disease.

Three months later, an outbreak in a Madagascan killed at least 20 people in a week. 

A year before 60 people died as a result of the infection, more than in any other country in the world.

Outbreaks in China have been rare in recent years, and most have happened in remote rural areas of the west.

China’s state broadcaster said there were 12 diagnosed cases and three deaths in the province of Qinghai in 2009, and one in Sichuan in 2012.

In the United States between five and 15 people die every year as a result, mostly in western states.

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