Case of bubonic plague found in China's Inner Mongolia region

6 July 2020, 12:34

The alarm was raised in Bayannur on Sunday. File pic. Picture: PA

Authorities in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have raised the alarm after a case of bubonic plague was discovered over the weekend.

People living in the Bayannur district were told on Sunday to stop hunting wild animals after the case was reported, and have advised anyone with symptoms - including fever - to seek treatment.

The plague has a fatality rate of up to 90% if not treated.

Occasional cases of the plague are reported in China when hunters come into contact with fleas carrying the disease - although the country has mostly eradicated the illness in recent years.

Pneumonic plague, an illness that develops from the bubonic plague, can cause a severe lung infection with symptoms of shortness of breath, headache and coughing.

In 2009, several people in the town of Ziketan in Qinghai province on the Tibetan Plateau died after contracting the plague.

This is the last known outbreak of the disease.

It comes as China's battle against coronavirus appears to be subsiding after several weeks with no new deaths, and just one new case of infection reported in Beijing on Monday.