Authorities raise alarm as deadly 'bubonic plague' disease is reported in China

As the fights to get covid-19 under control, news of potentially deadly viruses continue to emerge from China with the latest being 'bubonic plague', believed to be caused by bacteria.

The disease which was reported by authorities in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, is said to be responsible for the Black Death pandemic, which reportedly kiIIed an estimated 50 million people in Europe during the Black Death in the Middle Ages, according to a report by CNN.


Authorities upon the discovery of disease, have raised alarm after the case was discovered in the city of Bayannur, located northwest of Beijing, according to state-run Xinhua news agency.

A hospital alerted municipal authorities of the patient's case on Saturday. By Sunday, local authorities had issued a citywide Level 3 warning for plague prevention, the second lowest in a four-level system.

The warning will stay in place until the end of the year, according to Xinhua.



Plague, caused by bacteria and transmitted through flea bites and infected animals, is one of the deadliest bacterial infections in human history.

Bubonic plague, which is one of plague's three forms, causes painful, swollen lymph nodes, as well as fever, chills, and coughing.

Bayannur health authorities are now urging people to take extra precautions to minimize the risk of human-to-human transmission, and to avoid hunting or eating animals that could cause infection.


"At present, there is a risk of a human plague epidemic spreading in this city. The public should improve its self-protection awareness and ability, and report abnormal health conditions promptly," the local health authority said, according to state-run newspaper China Daily.



The disease is believed to be carried by marmots - a type of large ground squirrel that is eaten in some parts of China and the neighboring country Mongolia. The animal is said to have historically caused plague outbreaks in the region.