CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited): 12 cases (with three deaths, one in critical condition, 218 in hospital)

[Giuseppe]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Plague death toll rises in China (BBC, edited)

Page last updated at 04:32 GMT, Tuesday, 4 August 2009 05:32 UK

Plague death toll rises in China


A third man has died of pneumonic plague in north-western China where a town of more than 10,000 people has been sealed off, officials say.

The 64-year-old man was a neighbour of the first two people to die from the plague in Ziketan in Qinghai Province.

Police have set up checkpoints around Ziketan, as medics are disinfecting the area and killing rats and insects.

Pneumonic plague, which attacks the lungs, can spread from person to person or from animals to people.

A spokeswoman for the World Health Organization, Vivian Tan, earlier said an outbreak such as this was always a concern, but praised the Chinese for reacting quickly and for getting the situation under control.

A BBC correspondent in Beijing, Michael Bristow, says that unlike in the past the authorities are being very open about this outbreak.

Local officials in north-western China have told the BBC that the situation is under control, and that schools and offices are open as usual.

But to prevent the plague spreading, the authorities have sealed off Ziketan.

About 10 other people inside the town have so far contracted the disease, according to state media.

No-one is being allowed leave the area, and the authorities are trying to track down people who had contact with the men who died.

Initial symptoms of pneumonic plague include fever, headache and shortness of breath.

The local health bureau has warned anyone with a cough or fever who has visited the town since mid-July to seek medical treatment.

According to the WHO, pneumonic plague is the most virulent and least common form of plague.

It is caused by the same bacteria that occur in bubonic plague - the Black Death that killed an estimated 25 million people in Europe during the Middle Ages.

But while bubonic plague is usually transmitted by flea bites and can be treated with antibiotics, pneumonic plague is easier to contract and if untreated, has a very high case-fatality ratio.
-
​

<cite cite="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8182734.stm">BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Plague death toll rises in China</cite>

 

[alert]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

If poeple are fleeing the town, I suspect that preventative antibiotics are NOT being administered. If they were, the townspeople would no they are at virtually no risk of becoming ill. Perhaps it is because of the remote location that 10,000 doses of antibiotics are not available, or perhaps China believes this outbreak has already been contained, as no new cases have been reported in three days.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/china/article6738264.ece

Residents flee China's quarantined plague townJane Macartney in Beijing
1 Comment
Recommend? (5)
Frightened residents of a Chinese town sealed off after an outbreak of pneumonic plague have begun to flee under cover of darkness, sneaking around checkpoints set up to stop the spread of one of the world’s deadliest diseases.

Residents said that the streets of Ziketan, a town in a mainly ethnically Tibetan region of western China, were deserted as medical staff raced to disinfect the area amid reports a third person had died of the highly contagious illness.

After the outbreak was detected last Thursday, police set up checkpoints in a 17-mile radius of the farming community of about 10,000 people. But Tibetan residents familiar with the rugged and wild terrain have begun to slip out of the town, evading the checkpoints.

One person had made his way to a neighbouring province but declined to give his exact location. Others, he believed, had made their way to the city of Xining, the capital of Qinghai province. Still others had taken refuge with friends or relatives still living a nomadic existence on the Tibetan plateau.

Related Links
China quarantines town after plague outbreak
Untreated pneumonic plague has high mortality
“Many, many people have left. They have just escaped. The streets are virtually empty now,” he said.

Outbreaks of the plague in such a populated region are extremely rare.

Occasional cases have been reported in western China, usually in Tibetan areas, over the past couple of decades but almost all have been limited to herders in remote areas who were infected with either pneumonic or bubonic plague after eating wild marmots or being infected by fleas carried by rats. Such outbreaks are much easier to control.

However, more herders have been moved into towns in recent years as part of a policy by the authorities to provide permanent housing for nomads and establish greater control over Tibetans.

The first death was of a herdsman who succumbed to the plague three days after burying his dog, which had died suddenly. Another 11 people – friends and relatives – became infected after attending the man’s funeral. Pneumonic plague is spread through the air and can be passed from person to person through coughing.

The latest victim was a 64-year-old man named Danzhi. He was a neighbour of the 32-year-old herdsman and of a 37-year-old man who died at the weekend. Another nine people are infected and in hospital, according to the local health bureau.

There have been no reports of new cases since the weekend and officials say the outbreak is under control.

 

[FrenchieGirl]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Marmots... Here is an interesting article about marmots and the Plague of Manchuria in 1910 and 1911. [Warning, one photo is graphic and may shock sensitive people]

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

There will be severe consuquenses if this gets out. If these people let the disease out there will be nothing to stop it from infecting the whole world.

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Russia tightens controls on Chinese border over plague outbreak - 'RIA Novosti' newswire

Russia tightens controls on Chinese border over plague outbreak

CHITA, August 4 (RIA Novosti)


Russia has tightened security on part of the border with China due to an outbreak of pneumonic plague in the Qinghai province.

The town of Ziketan in northwest Qinghai was quarantined after the outbreak was registered on July 30. Twelve people have been infected, of whom three have died.

A spokesperson for the customs service in the Transbaikal area, to the east of Siberia's Lake Baikal, told RIA Novosti that no signs of infection have so far been detected near the border.

Russia's chief sanitary official Gennady Onishchenko advised Russians on Tuesday to avoid travelling to China's "problem regions."

The head of the local department of national consumer rights regulator Ropotrebnadzor told RIA Novosti that Transbaikal has historically been a plague hot spot, due to its proximity with China and Mongolia.

"A lot depends on the number of wild rodents, who are the main carriers of the fleas that spread the plague. We have an anti-plague station operating in the region, which is studying these processes," Vladimir Pintusov said.

According to the World Health Organization, pneumonic plague, which affects the lungs and can be transmitted from person to person or from animals to people, can be fatal within 24 hours of infection.
-
​

<cite cite="http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090804/155725070.html">Russia tightens controls on Chinese border over plague outbreak | Top Russian news and analysis online | 'RIA Novosti' newswire</cite>

 

[littlebird]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

It's kind of odd that this Pneumonic Plague has shown up in the absence of Bubonic Plague. From what I've read, Pneumonic Plague can be spread by coughing, and aerosol droplets, but somebody initially had to have a bubonic plague that was left untreated that progressed to pneumonic plague. Unless the infected animal spread the disease via aerosol droplets to begin with.

Either way, you would think that somebody in the area would have been bitten by one of these infected fleas, and there would also be some cases of bubonic plague in the area along with the pneumonic variety. Maybe those infected fleas are just not that common.

Why did the disease skip the common form of flea-bite transmission and only show it's face as the pneumonic variety?

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gUvKuB6WVz7vehKZs4_wxS6s20Qw

 

[Treyfish]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

People flee Chinese town hit by plague

• <FORM id=buzz-top class=buzz method=post action=http://buzz.yahoo.com/vote/> Play Video <CITE class=caption>Reuters ? China plague leaves 3 dead </CITE></FORM>

<!-- end #main-media --><!-- end .primary-media --> <CITE class=caption>AFP/File ? A farmer watches over his sheep on the banks of a lake in Tibet. The death toll from an outbreak of pneumonic ?</CITE>

<!-- end .secondary-media -->
<!-- end .related-media --><CITE class=vcard>By HENRY SANDERSON, Associated Press Writer Henry Sanderson, Associated Press Writer </CITE>? <ABBR class=timedate title=2009-08-04T10:40:57-0700>Tue Aug 4, 1:40 pm ET</ABBR>
<!-- end .byline -->BEIJING ? Residents of a remote farming town in western China said Tuesday people were seeking to flee in defiance a lockdown by authorities to prevent the spread of highly infectious pneumonic plague which has claimed three lives in the area.
Police have set up checkpoints around Ziketan in Qinghai province, a town of 10,000 people, which has been put under quarantine after at least a dozen people caught the lung infection which can kill within 24 hours if untreated.
Some people tried to leave the quarantined area Monday evening, mostly by foot, after the third death was reported, two residents reached by The Associated Press said. Most of the town's residents are Tibetan herders of yaks, sheep and pigs.
"A lot of people ran off last night when they heard that another person died of this plague. They are mostly from other provinces," said a food seller surnamed Han who runs a stall at the Crystal Alley Market. "They headed back home with food, water and their donkeys."
Medical workers in Ziketan were disinfecting and killing rodents and insects that can be carriers for the bacteria that causes the plague, according to a notice on the provincial health department Web site.
A Tibetan woman named Xiumaocuo, a migrant construction worker from another village in Qinghai, said there were very few people on the streets Tuesday.
"I've heard the migrant workers who build projects went home last night," she said by telephone. "My boss told me that more than 50 of the 100 construction workers on our project left homes already."
It was unclear if the people who headed out of the town made it past the police checkpoints, which residents say have been set up in 17-mile (28-kilometer) radius around Ziketan, which lies more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) west of Beijing.
Officials at the local and provincial level were unavailable to comment.
Chinese authorities have been in contact with the World Health Organization about their steps to contain the outbreak of plague, a disease that circulates mainly among small animals like rats and mice but can also infect humans.
Pneumonic plague is caused by the same bacteria that causes bubonic plague ? the Black Death that killed an estimated 25 million people in Europe in the Middle Ages. Pneumonic plague is the least common and most deadly form of the disease. It can be directly spread between humans since the bacteria is airborne and can easily be inhaled by those in close contact with infected patients. But if treated early with antibiotics, it is curable.
The outbreak in Ziketan was first detected Thursday, although it isn't clear when the first victim died.
The official Xinhua News Agency said the latest victim was a 64-year-old man named Danzhi ? a neighbor of the first two fatalities, described in reports as a 32-year-old herdsman and a 37-year-old man.
The herdsman fell sick after burying his dog, which had died suddenly, according to a report by the official China National Radio, citing a hospital official. He died four days after the dog's burial and the relatives who handled his funeral were showing symptoms within days, the report said.
Those relatives were among a further nine people who are infected and in a hospital, according to the local health bureau. One is in extremely serious condition and one other has developed symptoms of coughing and chest pain, but the rest are in stable condition, Xinhua and the health department said.
China has had cases of plague before. WHO said in a 2006 report that most cases in China's northwest occur when hunters are contaminated while skinning infected animals.
In 2004, eight villagers in Qinghai province died of plague, most infected after killing or eating wild marmots, creatures related to gophers and prairie dogs.
Worldwide, thousands of plague cases are reported each year, mostly in Africa. Between 1998 and 2008, nearly 24,000 cases were reported, including about 2,000 deaths, in Africa, Asia, the Americas and eastern Europe.:tiphat:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090804/ap_on_re_as/as_china_plague_18

 

[alert]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Unless the infected animal spread the disease via aerosol droplets to begin with.

Why did the disease skip the common form of flea-bite transmission and only show it's face as the pneumonic variety?

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gUvKuB6WVz7vehKZs4_wxS6s20Qw

My guess is the animal (marmot?) already had pneumonic plague. It looks like most, if not all, of the 12 human cases had about the same onset date. I figure the animal was bitten by a flea, developed bubonic plague, and then it progressed to pneumonic plague in the animal. From there, it then spread to people as pneumonic plague.

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

There will be severe consuquenses if this gets out. If these people let the disease out there will be nothing to stop it from infecting the whole world.

I still think this might happen, given the circumstances.

 

[alert]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

The availability of antibiotics not only reduces the mortality rate of plague, it helps control the spread. Look up the details of the outbreak originating in Surat, India in 1994. That was pneumonic plague, and over 5,100 cases were reported, all across India, but that outbreak was brought under control (and the final CFR was less than 2%).

That is why I am a little confused that there doesn't seem to be preventative distribution of antibiotics to the entire town. That would greatly reduced the expected size of this outbreak.

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

There is a major city of over two million people not far from this area. There is also a major railway also.

 

[Rwilmer]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Ministry of Health: Xinghai county in Qinghai plague spread of the epidemic will not be able to dispose at

10:06 on August 5, 2009

Source: Xinhuanet

China's Ministry of Health experts said here in Qinghai Province in China has Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Xinghai County plague epidemic has taken strong measures to prevent and control and achieved remarkable results, not the spread of the epidemic.

Qinghai province, state, and county levels on the 4th plague emergency command 17 pm, Conference Center in Hainan joint state held a news briefing that, as of now, the epidemic caused by a total of 3 deaths, 1 in critical condition, one cases of severe illness, basic stability of the remaining patients.

"Since the outbreak on the 5th consecutive no new cases, isolation and treatment of hospitalized patients are more stable, observation without any abnormal personnel. Segregation of patients is the treatment of the first deaths of relatives and village doctors." Hainan State Kui董富vice governor said.

Ministry of Health experts believe that the disposal of the epidemic measures are effective, timely and effective. Plague prevention and control of the Ministry of Health expert group in Hainan member states, the Ministry of Health deputy director of emergency do, said Professor Liang Wannian, Qinghai Province in a very short period of time identified the transmission chain, and to take decisive measures to isolate where this is the the key to preventing the spread of the disease.


"This will cut off once again become a source of infection and to prevent the epidemic 'snowball' type of transmission." Leung said years, "participation in the disposal of the local disease control staff professional and technical skills, so that treatment measures and achieved results落在实处. "

After the outbreak, in Qinghai Province to start at the first emergency provincial, state, and county levels contingency plans, the establishment of provincial, state, and county levels plague emergency command post, in accordance with the "emergency plan to control the plague in Qinghai Province", in accordance with the law, science, normative, orderly, and implement a comprehensive prevention and control work, including isolation and treatment of patients, according to the law of blockade and other areas. "These measures are very effective, but also very effective." Leung said years.

Emergency Command plague epidemic also announced a day, be open, transparent, timely, to a large extent eliminate the anxiety of the public.

Yin Li, Deputy Minister of Health after it has been confirmed in the outbreak as soon as the night went to lead the Group of Experts on the state of Hainan to guide prevention and control and medical treatment.

"At present, there are more than 140 from the Ministry of Health and the health and epidemic prevention staff in Qinghai Province, the epidemic situation is still tense in the disposal of work." Kui said董富. (Lu Shirley)

http://www.chinanews.com.cn/jk/jk-zcdt/news/2009/08-05/1804742.shtml

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

China plague toll rises to three: report - Yahoo! News

China plague toll rises to three: report

BEIJING (AFP)


The death toll from an outbreak of pneumonic plague in northwest China has risen to three, state media reported Tuesday as authorities maintained a quarantine lockdown on a town of 10,000 people.

The latest victim was a 64-year-old man who died Monday in Ziketan, a remote town in a Tibetan area of Qinghai province where two fatalities had previously been reported, the Global Times said.

At least nine other people were infected with the highly virulent disease -- most of them relatives of the first fatality, a 32-year-old herdsman, reports said, quoting local health authorities.

Qinghai provincial health authorities refused to comment when contacted by AFP Tuesday.

Ziketan, which is about 200 kilometres (125 miles) southwest of the provincial capital Xining, had enough supplies to get by on its own for the time being, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Health authorities were urging people who had visited Ziketan on or after July 16 to seek immediate help if they developed a cough or fever.

Medical staff were tracking down people who had been in close contact with the patients but there had been no reports of new infections, Xinhua said.

Late Tuesday a fourth patient was said to be near death in Ziketan while another was in a serious condition, Xinhua reported, citing health authorities.

The World Health Organization said the outbreak was a concern but hoped it could be contained as previous outbreaks in the same area had been in recent years.

"It's definitely a concern because this is probably the most lethal form of plague there is," WHO spokeswoman Vivian Tan told AFP in Beijing.

"But it is happening in a remote area of the country and the authorities seem to be taking the right measures so it's probably too soon to say how serious the situation is."

Tan said the bacteria which causes the plague is endemic in some rodents in the region.

"If the fleas from those animals do bite human beings they could lead to the bubonic plague, which is more common, and if that is left untreated it could sometimes lead to the pneumonic plague which we're seeing in Qinghai at the moment," she said.

However, Tan said there had been no reports of bubonic plague in the region, and the cause of the outbreak was unclear.

"At this point the authorities are still investigating so we can't really pinpoint the source of the problem," she said.

The vast high-altitude area is sparsely inhabited, mainly by Tibetan herders.

Plague in the region is mainly due to the handling of carcasses of infected rodents such as marmots, which are hunted for food and fur, the WHO says.

Pneumonic plague spreads through the air, making it easier to contract than bubonic plague, which requires that a person is bitten by an infected flea.

The WHO says pneumonic plague is the most virulent but least common form of plague. The mortality rate is high and patients can die 24 hours after infection.
-
​

<cite cite="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090804/hl_afp/healthchinaepidemic_20090804170945">China plague toll rises to three: report - Yahoo! News</cite>

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

12 pneumonic plague confirmed in NW China (Xinhua, edited)

12 pneumonic plague confirmed in NW China

www.chinaview.cn 2009-08-05 20:39:51
BEIJING, Aug. 5


As of 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, 12 cases of pneumonic plague have been confirmed in Xinghai County in the Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwest China's Qinghai Province.

The cases include three deaths, one near death and one in serious condition.

The others are stable. Local government has sealed off and quarantined the town of Ziketan, the source of the outbreak. And provincial health authorities have deployed a team of experts to the area. There has been no report of new infections.

"Now material supplies in the infected area are stable. People there are calm and social order is normal, which means our measures are strong, orderly and effective."

At present, 218 people are quarantined in hospital, and 115 of them had been in close contact with those infected. Local authorities have handed out more than 40,000 leaflets and disks on plague prevention. Pneumonic plague is one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world, and can kill patients within 24 hours of infection, according to the World Health Organization.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Xi'ning. (XHTV)

Editor: Xiong Tong
-
​

<cite cite="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/05/content_11831481.htm">12 pneumonic plague confirmed in NW China_English_Xinhua</cite>

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited)

With reference to post n. 54: http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=276843&postcount=54

Has the aetiological agent been isolated?

If the causative agent is Yersinia Pestis: has the bacteria been cultured and tested for antibiotics sensitivity?

How many close contacts of the infected patients are currently under antibiotics prophylaxis?

 

[alert]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited): 12 cases (with three deaths, one in critical condition, 218 in hospital)

Some kind of test has definitely come back positive. I doubt they acutally isolated the pathogen; I suspect it was a PCR test or something similar. It would be nice if they did verify that this wasn't antibiotic resistant.

I have not read any articles indicating that anyone other than the confirmed cases is on antibiotic prophylaxis. I feel that at least the 218 quarantined contacts, if not the entire town of 10,000 should be.

Unfortunately, as all 12 were ill when this was diagnosed, I doubt they received treatment as soon as they should have. Unfortunately, I expect few of the 12 to survive.

 

[Treyfish]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited): 12 cases (with three deaths, one in critical condition, 218 in hospital)

China?s Plague-Affected Town Gets Handbooks to Stem Outbreak





By Jason Gale
Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Chinese officials trying to stop pneumonic plague spreading in northwestern Qinghai province have distributed more than 40,000 handbooks and other material to educate residents and prevent panic.
Authorities also quarantined a 3,500-square-kilometer (1,350-square-mile) area to contain the pneumonia-causing disease in the remote town of Ziketan, the provincial health department said in a statement today. Three people have died of the disease in the past week, one is in serious condition, one is recovering and seven others are stable, the department said.
Pneumonic plague, the most serious of three forms of the disease caused by Yersinia pestis bacteria, infects the lungs and can spread through coughing and sneezing. While improved hygiene has reduced its occurrence in China in the past decade, the germ has persisted in some areas including Qinghai, said P.L. Ho, associate professor of microbiology at Hong Kong University.
?The exact mode of transmission and why small clusters have occurred in recent years is still under investigation,? Ho, who has studied bacteria for 20 years, said in a telephone interview.
While plague can be fatal in all untreated cases, early diagnosis and treatment with generic antibiotics such as streptomycin and tetracycline cuts patients? mortality rate to less than 15 percent, the World Health Organization said. The Geneva-based agency said it?s monitoring the situation.
Lives Are ?Normal?
The Qinghai health department reiterated that the plague- affected area, situated northeast of Tibet, is adequately supplied with medicines and daily necessities and people?s lives are ?normal.? Authorities also ordered the area to be fumigated and for all animal carcasses to be burned to prevent the spread of the disease, it said.
Residents of the farming town say people have been seeking to flee, mostly by foot, in defiance of a lockdown by authorities, the Associated Press reported yesterday.
Anyone who has visited Ziketan and the surrounding areas after July 15 and has developed a fever or a cough should seek treatment at a hospital, the health department said.
Ziketan, which has a population of about 10,000, is 144 kilometers southwest of the Qinghai provincial capital of Xining, which in turn is about a 2 1/2-hour flight west of Beijing.
Pneumonic plague is caused by the same bacterium that cause bubonic plague -- the Black Death that killed an estimated 25 million people in Europe during the Middle Ages. In the mid- 1800s, plague killed 12 million people in China.
Yersinia pestis bacteria are found mainly in rodents, particularly rats, and in the fleas that feed on them.
?In many parts of the world, the infection is still endemic and occurs sporadically where resources and systematic treatment is limited,? Ho said. ?Attention is required because of international travel and the possibility of travelers visiting remote villages and being exposed.? :tiphat:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601202&sid=animJoqZS5ww

 

[alert]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited): 12 cases (with three deaths, one in critical condition, 218 in hospital)

The bold description seems to indicate that some of the patients are improving, as now no one is mentioned as "near death".

http://www.qhwst.gov.cn/pub/zhxw/xwzx/2009/08/05/1249441730739.html#


青海省海南州兴海县鼠疫疫情及防控工作情况通报 Hainan, Qinghai Province Xinghai County, the state of plague and epidemic prevention and control work briefing

作者:本站管理员| 来源:办公室| 2009年08月05日| 点击: Author: Site Administrator | Source: Office of | August 5, 2009 | Click: 105 次 Times
字体大小: 大 中 小 Font size: Medium Small 打印页面 Print page 关闭页面 Close page 加入收藏 Favorite 添加人:办公室 Add Person: Office


青海省海南州兴海县鼠疫疫情及防控工作情况通报 Hainan, Qinghai Province Xinghai County, the state of plague and epidemic prevention and control work briefing

青海省卫生厅 Qinghai Provincial Health Department

（2009年8月5日） (5 August, 2009)


一、鼠疫疫情 A plague epidemic

2009年7月30日，青海省海南州兴海县子科滩镇发现一起疑似鼠疫疫情，经实验室48小时细菌培养结果呈阳性，根据患者临床表现、流行病学调查和实验室检测结果，专家确认为肺鼠疫，确诊病例12例。 July 30, 2009, Hainan, Qinghai Province Xinghai County, son of the state Division Town found with suspected plague outbreak, laboratory-48 hours of bacterial culture results were positive, according to clinical manifestations, epidemiological investigation and laboratory test results, Experts identified as pneumonic plague, 12 cases of confirmed cases.

截止8月5日8时，无新增确诊病例和疑似鼠疫病例，累计确诊的病例中3例死亡、1例病情较重、1例病情好转，其余患者病情基本稳定。 Cut-off at 8 o'clock on August 5, no additional confirmed cases and suspected cases of plague, a total of confirmed cases of the three cases of death, one cases of severe illness, one cases of the disease improved the stability of the remaining patients.
二、采取的措施 Second, the measures taken

疫情发生后，中共中央政治局常委、国务院副总理李克强作出重要指示，省委书记强卫、省长宋秀岩多次听取汇报并做出批示，召开会议作出安排。 After the outbreak, the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau Standing Committee, Vice Premier Li Keqiang made important instructions, the provincial party committee secretary of the Qiang Wei, Song Xiuyan governor repeatedly listening to the reports and make instructions to arrange a meeting. 主管副省长马顺清7月30日接到报告后连夜赶赴海南州指挥防控工作。 Shun-ching, deputy governor in charge July 30 after receiving the report, the state command of the night to rush to the prevention and control work in Hainan. 卫生部副部长尹力7月31日带领专家组连夜赶到海南州，指导防控和医疗救治工作。 Yin Li, vice minister of Ministry of Health, July 31 Group of Experts on the same night to lead the state rushed to Hainan to guide prevention and control and medical treatment. 我省紧急启动省、州、县三级应急预案，成立了省、州、县三级鼠疫应急指挥部，按照《青海省鼠疫控制应急预案》，依法、科学、规范、有序、全面开展各项防控工作。 Zhejiang Province, an emergency start, state, and county levels contingency plans, the establishment of provincial, state, and county levels plague emergency command post, in accordance with the "emergency plan to control the plague in Qinghai Province", in accordance with the law, science, normative, orderly, and comprehensive in all of prevention and control work. 主要措施包括： Major initiatives include:

（一）全力救治患者。 (A) in patients with full treatment. 选派国家、省、州专家赶赴定点医疗机构，对每一例患者，由专家组会诊并拿出科学的治疗方案，开展针对性、个体化治疗。 Selected national, provincial, state experts rushed to the fixed-point medical institutions and patients for each, and come up with consultation by the Expert Group on the treatment of science, to carry out targeted, individualized treatment.

（二）科学划定并严密封锁疫区。 (B) the scientific designation of areas and tight blockade. 根据《中华人民共和国传染病防治法》、《突发公共卫生事件应急条例》和《青海省鼠疫控制应急预案》的规定和专家建议，将疫情发生地周边3500平方公里的范围作为本次疫情的疫区，并采取严格的控制措施，开展交通检疫。 According to "People's Republic of Communicable Disease Prevention Act", "Public Health Emergency Ordinance" and "contingency plans for control of plague in Qinghai Province" requirement and experts suggested that the outbreak in the range of around 3,500 sq km, as the epidemic areas, and to take strict control measures, to carry out transport and quarantine.

（三）严密排查密切接触者。 (C) close investigation of close contacts. 在深入开展流行病学调查的基础上，全力排查密切接触者，并采取严格的隔离和医学观察措施；全面排查疑似患者，对7月15日后该地区死亡病例进行回顾性调查，采取严格措施，防范出现第三代病例，确保疫情不向外扩散。 In-depth epidemiological investigations carried out on the basis of the full investigation of close contacts and to take strict measures for isolation and medical observation; comprehensive investigation of suspected patients, the future of the July 15 deaths in the region to conduct a retrospective investigation, to take strict measures, to prevent emergence of the third generation of cases to ensure that the epidemic does not spread.

（四）全面开展疫区消、杀、灭工作。 (D) to carry out a comprehensive consumer areas, killing, out of work. 对疫区封控范围进行严密的拉网式、地毯式排查和卫生防疫的消、杀、灭处理，对疫区及周边区域发现的动物尸体立即按有关规定进行卫生防疫处理，对所有疫源点进行全面防疫检查和消毒。 Letters to the affected areas to closely control the scope of the dragnet, carpet-style investigation and health and epidemic prevention of the extinction, killing, to deal with eradication of infected areas and the surrounding areas of animal carcasses found immediately in accordance with the relevant provisions dealing with health and epidemic prevention for all foci point to conduct a comprehensive inspection and disinfection epidemic prevention.

（五）全力开展宣传教育和社会稳定工作。 (E) to carry out publicity and education and social stability. 大力宣传鼠疫防治知识，开展健康教育，在疫区发放藏汉双语的鼠疫防治知识手册、报刊4万余份，宣传光碟400多张，提高公众自我保护意识和能力，消除群众的恐慌心理，稳定疫区群众的思想情绪。 Vigorously publicized plague prevention and control knowledge, to carry out health education, bilingual in Chinese and Tibetan areas of the plague release prevention and treatment manuals, press 4 million copies, more than 400 promotional CD-ROM copies to raise public awareness and ability of self-protection, the elimination of panic the masses, stability emotional thinking of the masses affected areas. 同时，全力保障疫区物资供应，紧急调运了一批防控工作必需的医疗器械、救治药品、生活用品等物资，省、州、县财政及时安排必要的防控资金，有效保障了防控救治工作的顺利开展。 At the same time, all supply protection areas, emergency transport to prevent and control the work of a number of essential medical equipment, treatment drugs, supplies and other daily necessities, provincial, state, county financial arrangements necessary for the timely prevention and control of funds, effective protection of the prevention and control of treatment smooth development of the work.

三、防控工作效果 Third, the effect of prevention and control work

目前，疫区物资供应充足，群众情绪稳定，社会秩序良好，群众生产生活秩序正常，防控工作正在有力、有序、有效开展。 At present, the affected areas an adequate supply of materials, mass emotional stability, social order and good order of the normal production and life of the masses, the prevention and control work is a powerful, orderly, and effective.

正在救治的患者病情稳定，没有出现新增病例。 Treatment of patients are in stable condition, no new cases. 对所有隔离人员实行医学观察，隔离人员情绪稳定。 Isolated personnel to all medical observation and quarantine staff emotional stability. 同时，加强了医院、隔离点、检疫点的内部管理，采取严格的防护措施，没有发生医源性感染和意外感染。 At the same time, the hospital, isolation, the quarantine point of internal management, adopt strict protective measures, there were no iatrogenic infection and accidental infection.


相关链接： Related links:

兴海百姓生活未受大影响 Sea life is not much affected by the common people


青海省兴海县发现肺鼠疫疫情。 Xinghai County, Qinghai Province pneumonic plague outbreak was found. 这个位于青海省海南藏族自治州的小县，成为外界关注的焦点。 The Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province is located in a small county, has become the focus of attention of the outside world.

全县限制出入 The county restricted access

兴海县距离西宁市260公里，沿国道去兴海县城所在地子科滩镇，需要穿越海拔3000多米的河卡山隧道。 Xinghai County, 260 kilometers from Xining city, along National Road to Xinghai county seat of sub-Section Town, the need for more than 3000 meters above sea level across the river card tunnel. 记者在隧道口收费站看到，汽车道上已经铺满了用消毒水浸泡的草垫，几名身穿白色隔离服的防疫人员站在出县方向的车道上，对车辆进行喷雾消毒。 Reporter in the tunnel I see the toll stations, car track has been covered with disinfectant soaked straw, several white officers standing on the immunization隔离服County, the direction of the driveway, spraying disinfectant on the vehicles. 收费站的工作人员也都戴着厚厚的棉布口罩。 Staff the toll booths are also wearing a thick cotton cloth face masks. 司机交费之后，除了收到缴费票据外，还有两张印着汉字和藏文的鼠疫防控知识宣传单。 After the drivers pay, in addition to receipt of payment instruments, there are two printed Tibetan characters and fliers plague prevention and control knowledge.

车行不过几百米，在一块标着?距离县城28公里?的指示牌附近，通向县城的公路被关卡割断。 Car a few hundred meters, however, marked in a "28 kilometers from the county" signs near the road leading to the county cut off by checkpoints. 路旁支着3顶蓝色的帐篷，7名穿着白色连体防护服，戴着口罩的防疫人员在这个临时设立的关卡驻守。 On-street branch of the three blue tents, wearing a white Siamese 7 protective clothing, wearing masks in the prevention of the establishment of the temporary checkpoints stationed. 只有拥有通行证的车辆才可进出，而且车上的人员必须下车登记，车辆内外也都要经过严格的消毒。 Only those with passes out of the vehicle before, but must get off the vehicle registration, vehicle and outside it, must undergo strict disinfection. 在排队等候过关的车队中，记者注意到，有不少是运送货物的卡车。 Waiting in line for customs clearance in the fleet, the reporter noted that a large number of trucks transporting goods.

这样的关卡环绕着兴海县。 Such a barrier around Xinghai County. 记者从一份疫区防控卡点位置图上清楚地看到，以子科滩镇为中心，兴海县东南西北4个方向安排了10个防控卡点，基本控制了兴海与外界交通的道路。 Epidemic prevention and control of a press card from a position clear to see map to sub-section for the Town Center, Xinghai county truck arranged four directions to prevent and control card 10, the basic control of the Sea with the outside world road traffic. 有工作人员告诉记者，目前，除了从事防控工作的人员之外，本县的居民基本不允许离开兴海。 Staff, told reporters that at present, in addition to the personnel engaged in the prevention and control work, the residents of the county is not allowed to leave the basic Xinghai.

城内商店逐渐复业 The gradual resumption of business the city shops

兴海县是一个人口仅有6.7万的小县，其中只有1万多人居住在县城，其余的多为牧民，在广阔的草场上游牧。 Xinghai county with a population of 67,000, only a small county, only 10,000 people living in the county, and the rest are mostly pastoralists, the vast nomadic grasslands.

在通往县城的公路旁，碧绿的草原上零星点缀着一顶顶白色帐篷。 In the side of the road leading to the county, sporadic green grassland dotted with a white tent顶顶. 当地人告诉记者，在草原上游牧的牧民通常追逐水草迁移，经常会形成一些临时性的聚居部落。 The local people told reporters that in the grassland nomadic herdsmen usually chase the water movement, is often the formation of some temporary tribal settlements. 这次鼠疫便是在类似的草原帐篷聚居区出现的。 The plague is in similar tents inhabited grasslands occur. 牧民感觉到不适时，就租车到县里的藏医院求医。 Herdsmen feel unwell on the Car to the possession of the county hospitals.

兴海县城不大，以一个十字路口为中心，商铺和各种机构沿着纵横两条街道依次排开。 Xinghai county not to a crossroads as the center, shops and a variety of agencies along the vertical and horizontal row followed by two open streets. 不时有戴着口罩的政府工作人员捧着鼠疫防控知识宣传单向路人发放。 Wearing a mask from time to time the Government of plague prevention and control of staff holding a one-way knowledge passers-release publicity.

记者随便选择一个地点停车，走进一家名为?时代超市?的小商店。 Press to jump to a parking place, into a company called "era of the supermarket" of small shops. 店主王燕说，商品供应没受太大影响。 Wang said the owner, not by the supply of goods affected. ?今天刚从西宁新进了一批货。你看，架子上的蛋黄派、面包都是新到的。? "Today a new进了一批goods from Xining. You see, the蛋黄派shelf, bread is fresh."

不过，王燕说这两天的生意不太好。 However, Wang said that this business is not a good day. 他说，刚听说鼠疫的第一天，大家都还没什么感觉，后来逐渐了解了鼠疫的?厉害?，大家才开始害怕，都躲在家里不敢出来，有的商店甚至关门歇业。 He said that just heard the first day of the plague, not what we all feel, then get to know the plague of "severe", we began to fear, all hiding in their homes afraid to come out, and some even have to close shop went out of business. 这两天，随着街道上人多了，商店开张的也多了。 These two days, with the Master streets more, shops are also more open.

但是藏族姑娘东格措还是觉得商店复业的不够多。 However, measures Eastern Tibetan girls still feel that stores more than enough to resume business. 8月3日下午，东格措正和朋友们逛街，她满不在乎地表示，鼠疫疫情对自己的基本生活没有造成影响。 The afternoon of August 3, East grid measures are shopping with friends, she indifference that plague epidemic on its own did not affect the basic livelihood.

医院戒备森严 The heavily guarded hospital

沿县城中心向西不过几百米，是县城藏医院所在地。 West County Center, along a few hundred meters, however, is the county seat of the Tibetan Hospital. 遭遇鼠疫的牧民到此求治，因为症状典型，迅速被怀疑为鼠疫病例。 Plague hit for the pastoralists to this rule, because the typical symptoms quickly suspected plague cases. 这座医院立即被封闭，所有患者均被就地隔离。 The hospital was closed and all patients were isolated in situ.

记者在现场看到，防疫人员以该院为中心，划出了数层隔离圈。 Reporters on the scene saw quarantine personnel to the hospital as the center, draw a circle several layers of isolation. 最外围的一道警戒线距离医院大概有数百米。 Together with the external cordon around several hundred meters away from the hospital. 警戒线附近停着一辆警车，旁边还有一顶蓝色帐篷。 A cordon of police vehicles parked nearby, next to a blue tent. 在阳光的暴晒下，身穿白色连体隔离服、?全副武装?的防疫人员仍在沿着警戒线巡视。 Under the exposure in the sun, wearing a white Siamese隔离服, "heavily armed" officers are still in quarantine inspections along the cordon. 看到记者的车靠近，他连连摆手，示意此处不能停留。 That reporters were around the car, he repeatedly Baishou signal can not stay here.

据记者了解，在距离县城几十公里之外的疫源地，即发病牧民聚居的帐篷区，也采取了同样严格的隔离措施。 This reporter has learned that several tens of kilometers away from the county outside the foci, that is, the incidence of the tent area inhabited by pastoralists, but also to take the same strict quarantine measures. 隔离半径以公里计，任何非专业人员均不得出入隔离区。 Km radius of isolation to any non-professionals are not allowed to access the area of separation. 即使是防控专家，也需要在接受严格的防护和消毒措施后才可进出。 Even the prevention and control expert, but also in strict protection and disinfection measures in order to access.

和隔离区紧张的气氛相比，普通居民的情绪比较平稳。 And isolated areas compared to the tense atmosphere, the mood of the general population relatively stable.

在距离藏医院隔离警戒线不过数十米的公路旁，居民李小强热情地邀请记者进去喝茶。 Possession of the hospital in isolation from the tens of warning line along the road, however, Xiao-Qiang Li residents warmly invited journalists to get a cup of tea. 他在这里已经居住了40多年，鼠疫疫情还是第一次碰到。 He has lived here more than 40 years, plague outbreak is the first time encountered. 在经历了最初的恐慌之后，他的生活逐渐恢复平静，现在他的注意力集中在自家房子的整修上。 After the initial panic, he gradually restore calm of life, and now his focus on the refurbishment of the house on their own. 院子的砖砌大门从8月1日开始动工，这两天就快完工了。 The door of the brick courtyard from August 1 to start the past two days has been completed soon. （摘自2009年8月4日《健康报》一版 记者曹政 何君发自鼠疫疫区） (From August 4, 2009, "Health News" a reporter from the plague epidemic CAO Zheng-Ho)

 

[kiwibird]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited): 12 cases (with three deaths, one in critical condition, 218 in hospital)

Since 2001, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported six plague outbreaks, though some may go unreported because they often happen in remote areas. Between 1998 and 2008, nearly 24,000 cases have been reported, including about 2,000 deaths, in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Eastern Europe.[1] The vast majority of the world's cases (98%) are in Africa.[1]

Prognosis and treatment

Pneumonic plague is a very aggressive infection requiring rapid antibiotic treatment within around 24 hours of infection.

Early treatment of pneumonic plague is essential. To reduce the risk of death, antibiotics must be given within 24 hours of first symptoms.[2] Streptomycin, gentamicin, tetracyclines, and chloramphenicol are all effective against pneumonic plague.

Antibiotic treatment for seven days will protect people who have had direct, close contact with infected patients. Wearing a close-fitting surgical mask also protects against infection.[2]

Without treatment, the mortality rate from pneumonic plague approaches 100%.[4]

Treatable and containable if action is taken quickly enough. Obviously the residents who fled were not given reassurance/information in time. A pity.

 

[alert]

Re: CHINA: QINGHAI, PNEUMONIC PLAGUE (from ProMedMail.org, edited): 12 cases (with three deaths, one in critical condition, 218 in hospital)

Treatable and containable if action is taken quickly enough. Obviously the residents who fled were not given reassurance/information in time. A pity.

Unfortunately, because of the history ("Black Death"), there are many misconceptions about plague. I think also some of the fear might be the result of the apparent decision not to put the whole town on preventative antibiotics. At least the 218 contacts, if not the whole town of 10,000 should be on antibiotics to minimize the number of further cases.

Maybe the remote location makes that amount of antibiotics a logistical nightmare.