By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews
Local authorities in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province are reporting a suspected case of bubonic plague, according to a Global Times report.
The patient is a 3-year-old child in Menghai county, who is currently in a stable condition after receiving treatment.
The case was found during a countywide screening for the disease, after three rats were found dead for unknown reasons in a village. Local disease control authorities initially concluded on September 21 that a rat plague occurred in Xiding, Menghai.
This human plague case follows two cases reported in Inner Mongolia, China in July and August.
Related: Congo, Madagascar top countries reporting most plague 2000-2009, US reports 57 cases
Plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium, Yersinia pestis. It is found in animals throughout the world, most commonly rats but other rodents like ground squirrels, prairie dogs, chipmunks, rabbits and marmots in China. Fleas typically serve as the vector for plague.
People can also get infected through direct contact with an infected animal, through inhalation and in the case of pneumonic plague, person to person.
Yersinia pestis is treatable with antibiotics if started early enough.
There are three forms of human plague; bubonic, septicemic and pneumonic.
