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China Medicine

China Confirms Case of Bubonic Plague In Inner Mongolia (bloomberg.com) 78

Posted by msmash from the watch-out dept.
China has confirmed one case of bubonic plague in northern province Inner Mongolia, according to a statement on the local health authority's website. From a report: The patient is now under treatment at a hospital and is in a stable condition, the Bayannur health commission said in a late Sunday night statement. It also issued a level-three alert, warning of the risks of human-to-human infection and urging citizens to report dead animals, suspected plague cases and patients running a fever for unidentified reasons. Bubonic plague, also called the 'Black Death,' killed 50 million people in a 14th century outbreak in Europe and about 12 million globally in the 19th century. It's now the most common type of plague and can be treated with antibiotics.

Inner Mongolia reported four cases in November while Madagascar sees some cases nearly every year between the months of September and April. Mongolia also confirmed two cases of bubonic plague earlier this month, triggering a quarantine in the province that borders China and Russia. While the ailment is treatable, unlike the novel pathogen which has caused the ongoing pandemic, Chinese health authorities are wary of any infectious disease spreading after a hard-fought containment of the coronavirus outbreak.
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China Confirms Case of Bubonic Plague In Inner Mongolia More

China Confirms Case of Bubonic Plague In Inner Mongolia

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  • Time to wall off china!

    • Re:Time to wall off china! (Score:4, Insightful)

      by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 ) on Monday July 06, 2020 @04:28PM (#60268724)

      Bubonic plague is caused by a bacteria and can be treated with common antibiotics.

      Wild rodents are a disease reservoir and the fleas occasionally hop to humans. It happens often enough that it is really not newsworthy.

      There is very little risk of this spreading.

      • Except: China has been caught lying, repeatedly, about infections within its borders. And the factors to prevent Coronavirus, staying home, avoiding social contact, lead to many people staying home in smaller living areas, and discourage safe pest control. Economies are also burdened by losing taxes from active labor and by caring for the currently ill, so adding another contagion could be devastating.

        • Re:Time to wall off china! (Score:4, Funny)

          by gtall ( 79522 ) on Monday July 06, 2020 @05:49PM (#60269036)

          Ya, there have been reports of fleas massing in China and stampeding through entire towns. It is also thought that Antifa is encouraging the fleas in this sort of behavior. This is a call to arms, get those assault weapons cocked and loaded now before the fleas attack the U.S. A show of force will make the fleas think twice about coming to the U.S., it does everyone else.

          • I've merely pointed out that it's another burden on an economy already stretched thin by the current plague. Coupled with China's history of government deceit about epidemics, it can and should raise some concern and encourage some monitoring for any spread of what is known to be a very dangerous contagion.

        • Except: China has been caught lying, repeatedly, about infections within its borders.

          So have the United Kingdom [theguardian.com] and, quite relevantly, the United States [theatlantic.com]. In fact, just today, the leader of the USA claimed that 99% of cases are harmless [metro.co.uk].

          Are you saying we should wall in the UK and USA because their governments lie about Covid-19?

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by cusco ( 717999 )

            Just the White House and Congress, and Parliament. Once all transport, communications and services are cut off you'll see a dramatic improvement in the functioning of both governments.

        • There's plenty of reasons to wall off China, douse them in tariffs, and mock their winnie-the-pooh-looking-commie-scum of leadership as they plunge back into the dark ages without us to leach off of; this however is not one of them.

      • Re: (Score:1, Insightful)

        by guruevi ( 827432 )

        Unless, like what happened in Wuhan, there is a nearby bio-weapons research lab where the outbreak started. The same area (Inner Mongolia) is also dealing with an outbreak of African Swine Fever. IMU happens to have a "Research Center for Laboratory Animal Science" where they study exactly those things.

        The Soviets had the same problem around the Aral Sea, they thought the bubonic plague was safe in their little island, until Soviet mismanagement of the rivers dried out the land and rats got out, the USSR de

      • You're right, it's not particularly newsworthy, except that the Chinese government has every reason to keep the rest of the world in a state of panic.
        Non-pandemic world? No one would even notice this bubonic plague case. Today? Wouldn't put it past some people to start filling their garages with toilet paper over just hearing about it.
        Also remember China 'reporting' on some swine flu that popped up that humans can get.
        They're doing this shit on purpose now; they're trolling the rest of the world, just to

    • Re:Time to wall off china! (Score:5, Informative)

      by Kitkoan ( 1719118 ) on Monday July 06, 2020 @04:35PM (#60268754)

      Why? This isn't news, it's just clickbait. The USA has an average of 7 cases of bubonic plague every year.

      Source: https://www.cdc.gov/plague/map... [cdc.gov].

    • Better start with the US first...
      https://www.cdc.gov/plague/faq... [cdc.gov]

      We average 7 cases a year.

  • Not as rare as we think? (Score:5, Informative)

    by whh3 ( 450031 ) on Monday July 06, 2020 @04:17PM (#60268682) Homepage

    Are we scared by this because of the focus on Coronavirus? If I am reading this correctly, cases of the plague are, while rare, not exceptionally rare: https://www.cdc.gov/plague/faq/index.html [cdc.gov].

    • It's just fodder for the 2020 Bingo card.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      It's only newsworthy because of the pandemic originating in China. Any news on viruses and stuff are amplified because of what's happening, and when China is thrown into the mix, well, it whips people up in a frenzy.

      Especially with Trump and his "China Flu" and "Kung Flu" and other terms making China newsworthy.

      Heck, you'll hear about someone getting sick from the flu next because it's China.

      Maybe back in 1918 where the Spanish Flu (presumed to originate in Kansas) would cases of the plague be newsworthy.

  • A case? (Score:3)

    by K. S. Kyosuke ( 729550 ) on Monday July 06, 2020 @04:18PM (#60268688)
    Like *one* case? Yawn. [wikipedia.org]

    • China also said the Wu Flu was no big deal and wasn't communicable...

      • With the difference that we know how the bubonic plague works. It's not like we've never seen it before. The shit's even mentioned in the effin bible.

      • There's been thousands of cases of bubonic plague worldwide every year for decades. How is this one special and "a big deal"?
    • The US averages a half-dozen cases a year, mostly in the Southwest; armadillos and several species of desert mice are well-documented plague reservoirs.
    • You assume it is just one case... China didn't even mention to the WHO about SARS-CoV2 until the WHO asked them about it at the end of December. It wasn't until 4 days later that China finally 'fessed up.
    • Yes, it's ONE case, but you put that through the input of the Coronavirus Pandemic amplifer, which has a gain of 1,000,000, and you can guess what might happen.

  • What am I reading here? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by RightSaidFred99 ( 874576 ) on Monday July 06, 2020 @04:18PM (#60268692)
    The US has 1-17 cases of this every year. I'm not a paranoiac but this has even me questioning how the things that make "the news" make the news. This has 0 significance why have I read about it in like 10 different places?
    • Beat me to it [cdc.gov]. We get more cases per year so this isn't really news other than China maybe, possibly being a bit more open about infections.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by renzhi ( 2216300 )
      Every news outlet, every government agency and politician try to play on the "red alert" or "yellow plague" game, instead of owning up their own shit when they fail. Now, we see that every single bit of things from China is blown out of proportion. News outlets here, in Canada, seem to be playing the same game as well. And there are no lack of demagogic politicians playing on the fear of people. When people can't (or don't have the will to) detect baloney, and with the speed that news circulate these days,

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

      Possibly some newsie was surfing the web and came across a standard report and, being not so bright themselves, or banking on the not-so-brightness of their audience, wrote an article.

      Possibly one of the propaganda outlets decided it would make a good anti-China piece.

    • and I thought you were indicting Interstate 17.

    • What dumb people might click on is "news".
      Simple as that.

      It has nothing to do with bringing you news or being useful. And everything with making money.

      I'm honestly no anti-capitalist, but somehow I see that whatever it, if you combine it with profit making, it degenerates into a rotten cancer.
      Frankly, I want to separate it from the term capitalism, and put it in with the term organized crime or fraud or something like that.
      Because surey, we can have a healthy commerce of honestly earned money, that is good

  • Some infected bozos ate their raw kidneys, because it's said to have medicinal properties.

    PS. Punxsutawney Phil was not amused.

    • A healthy animal is by definition sterile.

      The problem is not eating a different than usual mammal, nor eating one of the unusual parts of it, that we squeamish losers, who never met nature and won't even eat the dark meat on a chicken, find icky.

      The problem is that the animal was not well.
      And you should check that.
      But in the wilderness, you can't.
      And there is always a slight risk.
      And frankly, that risk is so slight, that avoiding the activity altogether, is a bit on the mentally ill side.

      TL;DR: Get a (full)

  • A perfect example of why today's "news" sucks (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Applehu Akbar ( 2968043 ) on Monday July 06, 2020 @04:36PM (#60268758)

    This year, coronavirus has replaced climate change as the reason why WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!! And just as in recent normal years every blizzard and flood is cited as part of the doomsday narrative, this year every instance of some disease that long ago stopped being epidemic is similarly cited.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      This year, coronavirus has replaced climate change as the reason why WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!

      No, it merely has a shorter-term die-ativity factor when it joined the gonna-die queue. And nobody I know of claimed climate change would kill most humans, only that it would make life and survival tougher.

      You seem to be oversimplifying messages given.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by cusco ( 717999 )

        That's because he reads (and apparently believes) the right-wingnut versions of what they think that "leftists" (and yes, we're all marching in lockstep and reading from the same cue cards) believe.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by mi ( 197448 )

        And nobody I know of claimed climate change would kill most humans

        Then you haven't been paying attention. Elizabeth Warren [slashdot.org] — a US Senator from your party, whom you also almost nominated for Presidency — for one, has called it "an existential threat" [vox.com] a year ago.

        She is not alone [vice.com]:

        ‘High Likelihood of Human Civilization Coming to an End’ Starting in 2050

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Tablizer ( 95088 )

          It is an existential threat. So is Covid. They are not on shifts or something.

        • Addendum per: "High Likelihood of Human Civilization Coming to an End' Starting in 2050"

          Note this:

          "The results would be devastating. Some one billion people would be forced to attempt to relocate from unlivable conditions, and two billion would face scarcity of water supplies. Agriculture would collapse in the sub-tropics, and food production would suffer dramatically worldwide. The internal cohesion of nation-states like the US and China would unravel."

          WW2 was driven largely be economic devastation from t

      • You seem to be oversimplifying messages given.

        Don't worry, I support climate change and the Arrhenius greenhouse hypothesis. What I hate is the activists' rampant hysteria, permanently turned up to 11, combined with the same activists rejecting any real-world solutions. They seem to be supporting a not-even-hidden agenda of destroying civilization as the only way of 'solving' the problem.

    • Or Socialism, or Communism, or Capitalism, or "furiners", or whatever someone wants to be the End of Days. Come on, this has been going on a long time, longer than any of us have been alive. The audience strongly (https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/12/4-in10-american-adults-were-living-end-times/) believes (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/our-humanity-naturally/201712/end-times-beliefs-are-extreme-and-extremely-influential) that the end of the world will happen in their lifetimes. The wei

    • This year, coronavirus has replaced climate change as the reason why WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!

      In defense of corona virus it actually is killing people faster than climate change. As soon as it is dealt with we can go back to solving longer term problems.

      part of the doomsday narrative

      A doomsday narrative is important as there's a lot of to put it bluntly fucking morons in the world accelerating towards a cliff face and it's important to remember that these morons are in control of the steering and accelerator. If the COVID-19 response in the USA has shown us one thing it's that we're unable to deal with even short term health cri

  • A bag of rice came close to toppling.

    C'mon, is it slow news day?

  • This is why... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Travco ( 1872216 ) on Monday July 06, 2020 @05:16PM (#60268906)
    Arizona runs PSAs every summer about "Don't play with (eat, lick, fornicate with ) dead animals. Bubonic is endemic in the local rodents and occasionally spreads.

  • The plague exists all over the planet in almost every rodent. But most people don't eat rodents, and we don't let them poop in our grain anymore.

    In fact: 10's of people get this per year in the US, https://www.cdc.gov/plague/maps/index.html#:~:text=Over%2080%25%20of%20United%20States%20plague%20cases%20have,50%25%20of%20cases%20occur%20in%20people%20ages%2012%E2%80%9345. [cdc.gov] So unless your an extremely uninformed journalist who writes an article on people getting the plague, this is not news.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by cusco ( 717999 )

      most people don't eat rodents

      Speak for yourself, guinea pigs are delicious and rabbits aren't half bad. Some of the healthiest meat you can eat, too.

      • Don't know about the pigs, but rabbit tasted just like fried chicken. Chicken is cheaper.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by cusco ( 717999 )

          Maybe rabbits that grow up eating Purina taste like chicken, can't honestly say that I've ever had one of those. The ones that live on grass are different. Of course a lot of people have trouble distinguishing different kinds of meats, so frog, snake, or partridge all "tastes like chicken" to them. (One rabbit you **don't** want to eat is a north woods jackrabbit that has been munching jack pine all winter, even my wife couldn't make that damn thing taste good.) That's probably why beef is so popular in

  • ...nuke something. Anything! Probably won't work, but would temporarily make us feel better.

  • They accused US military [nytimes.com] of bringing the Wuhan virus to, ahem, Wuhan.

    Is the plague our doing too?

  • The fact is, that marmots all over the world carry Y. Pestis. Here in Colorado, we get 1-2 deaths every couple of years due to ppl being foolish.

    When I worked at CDC, one of the nearby groups was the plague branch. At the time, their concern was somebody, typically easterner, visiting Colorado, seeing a dead squirrel/marmot/prairie dog and deciding to go inspect it. Upon flying home the next day, they have a cough all the way from Stapleton to the plane to one of the east coast airports. By the next da
  • As long as we have antibiotics we are safe from the plague. It is amazing to think that the plague during the middle ages could have been cured if people had just eaten moldy bread!
  • Slightly OT, but Jim Gaffigan linked a hilarious video of B.Plague... living on Disease Street [youtube.com].

  • Bubonic plague, also called the 'Black Death,'

    Nope. Is a downturn in the economy called a Great Depression? Is every snowstorm called the Snowmageddon? Of course not. So why do we struggle with the notion that the Black Death is different than plague, let alone bubonic plague?

    Bubonic plague is one of three plagues caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria, but it gets all the attention because the thing from which it gets its name, buboes—lymph nodes that swell as they fill with pus, turn colors, and become painful to touch—are highly visible

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