Why is the Chinese government killing rats and marmots?
August 3, 2009 Entire town in quarantine after two die from pneumonic plague in China An outbreak of pneumonic plague has killed two people in China and forced the lockdown of a remote town of 10,000 to halt the further spread of one of the world’s deadliest and most contagious diseases. The first victim, a 32-year-old herdsman, fell ill a day after burying his dog, which had died suddenly. Two days later the man was dead and friends and relatives attended his funeral in the ethnically Tibetan region of Ziketan in western Qinghai province. Of those mourners, 11 soon fell ill. One man, 37-year-old Danzin, a neighbour of the first victim, died on Sunday. Investigating the disease that had infected so many people so quickly, medical authorities soon established that all were infected with pneumonic plague. Those infected were undergoing treatment in isolation in a local Tibetan hospital while all 10,000 residents of Ziketan were placed in quarantine to try to halt the spread of one of the
An outbreak of pneumonic plague has killed two people in China and forced the lockdown of a remote town of 10,000 to halt the further spread of one of the world’s deadliest and most contagious diseases. The first victim, a 32-year-old herdsman, fell ill a day after burying his dog, which had died suddenly. Two days later the man was dead and friends and relatives attended his funeral in the ethnically Tibetan region of Ziketan in western Qinghai province. Of those mourners, 11 soon fell ill. One man, 37-year-old Danzin, a neighbour of the first victim, died on Sunday. Investigating the disease that had infected so many people so quickly, medical authorities soon established that all were infected with pneumonic plague. Those infected were undergoing treatment in isolation in a local Tibetan hospital while all 10,000 residents of Ziketan were placed in quarantine to try to halt the spread of one of the deadliest diseases in history. China has eradicated the plague from most parts of the
August 3, 2009 Entire town in quarantine after two die from pneumonic plague in China An outbreak of pneumonic plague has killed two people in China and forced the lockdown of a remote town of 10,000 to halt the further spread of one of the world’s deadliest and most contagious diseases. The first victim, a 32-year-old herdsman, fell ill a day after burying his dog, which had died suddenly. Two days later the man was dead and friends and relatives attended his funeral in the ethnically Tibetan region of Ziketan in western Qinghai province. Of those mourners, 11 soon fell ill. One man, 37-year-old Danzin, a neighbour of the first victim, died on Sunday. Investigating the disease that had infected so many people so quickly, medical authorities soon established that all were infected with pneumonic plague. Those infected were undergoing treatment in isolation in a local Tibetan hospital while all 10,000 residents of Ziketan were placed in quarantine to try to halt the spread of one of the
An outbreak of pneumonic plague has killed two people in China and forced the lockdown of a remote town of 10,000 to halt the further spread of one of the world’s deadliest and most contagious diseases. The first victim, a 32-year-old herdsman, fell ill a day after burying his dog, which had died suddenly. Two days later the man was dead and friends and relatives attended his funeral in the ethnically Tibetan region of Ziketan in western Qinghai province. Of those mourners, 11 soon fell ill. One man, 37-year-old Danzin, a neighbour of the first victim, died on Sunday. Investigating the disease that had infected so many people so quickly, medical authorities soon established that all were infected with pneumonic plague. Those infected were undergoing treatment in isolation in a local Tibetan hospital while all 10,000 residents of Ziketan were placed in quarantine to try to halt the spread of one of the deadliest diseases in history. China has eradicated the plague from most parts of the
China has eradicated the plague from most parts of the country, but still reports occasional cases in remote western Tibetan areas where the disease is carried by rats and the marmots that live across the huge Himalayan plateau. Outbreaks can be caused when Tibetans eat an infected marmot or come into contact with fleas carried by rats. The local government has already launched a campaign to kill rats, marmots and other possible carriers in the area where the latest outbreak was reported. One medical expert said that it was important for Tibetans to take great care when burying their meat in the ground for cooler storage to prevent rodents from finding the stash and infecting it. Sources: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6736993.
