What was once the world's most feared disease is back again because of china. From COVID-19, to Swine flu and now the Bubonic plague.
The Chinese city of Bayannur in inner Mongolia is the epicentre of what may be another epidemic. China's questionable healthcare and animal trade has risked the lives of millions, yet again.
A patient has been admitted to a hospital in Bayannur. He is a herdsman and is suspected to be infected by the Bubonic plague -- a disease which has long been synonymous to death.
The Bubonic plague is a zoonotic disease. It is transmitted through flea bites, rodents and infected animals. This is highly infectious and often fatal. The disease results in painful and swollen lymph nodes. Patients have fever, chills and coughing.
Bayannur authorities have issued a level-3 warning for plague prevention. The residents of Bayannur have been told to minimise the risk of human-to-human transmission. They have also been told to avoid hunting, and eating certain animals like marmots.
Unlike COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) says the Bubonic plague can be cured using common antibiotics. However, the antibiotics need to be administered urgently.
If an infected adult is not urgently hospitalised then he or she can die in less than 24 hours. If untreated, the plague can kill at least 30 to 60 per cent of the infected people.
The scary part is, even Bubonic plague can explode, and it has in the past. The disease caused the Black Death pandemic in the 14th century. It spread to Asia, Europe and Africa. At least 50 million people were killed in Europe alone.
In 2017, Madagascar saw over 300 cases. Mongolia saw two cases last year; both the patients had eaten raw marmot meat.
It all comes down to China's animal trade and wet markets. Over the weekend, Chinese authorities asked people to report dead or sick marmots.
Our question is, how is this enough? The world is already battling the coronavirus -- one whose origin lies in one of the city's infamous wet markets.
Stamping out animal trade on paper is not enough. Marmots have a proven track record of spelling disaster, and in China, they are selling like hot cakes.
In other words, China is a threat to global healthcare and this is being proved over and over again.
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