Bubonic plague kills 8 in northwest China
(chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies)
Updated: 2004-10-28 09:37

At least eight people have died from an outbreak of bubonic plague in northwestern China but authorities said the disease has been brought under control, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The bubonic plague bacteria taken from a patient. [AFP]

Nineteen cases were reported in four counties in Qinghai province this month and 11 people had recovered, the report said.

"Most of the patients were agricultural farmers, apart from one case in Nangqian county which needed further investigation, the rest were infected after hunting or eating marmots (a burrowing rodent)," it added.

The plague outbreak was controlled after local health authorities took swift measures to contain the disease, Qinghai health department was quoted as saying.

"Bubonic plague does occur in China and many other parts of the world from time to time," said World Health Organisation (WHO) spokesman Roy Wadia.

Wadia said as long as authorities identify the disease at an early stage and take prompt measures to stop the spread, the disease should come under control relatively quickly.

The Ministry of Health sent staff to Qinghai to help control the disease while local health authorities provided funding for treatment drugs, ordered the stepping-up of surveillance work and the isolation of infected areas.

"Measures were also taken to examine marmot hunters and to inspect markets which sell marmots," Xinhua said.

Bubonic plague results from an insect bite in which the plague bacillus travels through the lymphatic system to the nearest lymph node where it forms a swelling, the WHO said.

It is transmitted between rodents by fleas and can be passed to humans when the fleas bite them. Left untreated, the mortality rate is up to 60 percent.

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