China village sealed off after ANOTHER ‘Black Death’ bubonic plague infection
CHINA has closed an entire village after a second outbreak of the bubonic plague.
The plague, which wiped out almost half of Europe in the 14th century, was reported in Suji Xincun located in the city of Baotou.
Health authorities were notified of a death on Sunday but it was confirmed days later that the patient had the plague.
The patient died of circulatory system failure but it’s not known how the patient caught the plague, a statement read.
The village has been sealed and homes are disinfected daily. All villagers have reportedly tested negative for the disease.
Nine close contacts and 26 secondary contacts of the patient have been quarantined and also tested negative.
The patient’s case is the first death of the plague that China has confirmed this year. It’s the country’s second case of 2020.
An outbreak was reported in Bayan Nur in early July, reported Xinhua.
A third level alert was issued – the second lowest in the four-tier system.
This forbids the hunting and eating of animals which could carry the plague.
The alert asks the public to report any suspected cases of the plague, and to report any sick or dead marmots.
The medieval disease is easily treatable with medicines – but if left untreated, most infected will die within a week.
In the 14th Century, the Black Death – a collection of plagues including the bubonic plague – tore through the globe making it the most deadly recorded pandemic in history.
Most read in News
It killed 200 million people across Africa, Asia and Europe wiping out 60 per cent of Europe’s population.
The plague is a highly infectious and often fatal disease that is spread by fleas living on rodents such as marmots.
It’s characterised by flu-like symptoms and the appearance of raised, seeping welts on the neck, groin and armpits.
History of the Black Death
The Black Death was an epidemic of bubonic plague which struck Europe and Asia in the 1300s
It killed more than 20 million people in Europe – almost one third of the continent’s population between 1347-1352
Scientists now know that the plague was spread by a bacillus known as yersina pestis.
The bacteria can travel through the air as well as through the bites of infected fleas and rats.
Bubonic plague can cause swelling of the lymph notes. If untreated it could spread to the blood and lungs.
Other symptoms included fever, vomiting and chills.
Physicians relied on treatments such as boil-lancing to bathing in vinegar as they tried to treat people with the plague.
Some believed that the Black Death was a “divine punishment” – a form of retribution for sins against God.