On July 19, a case of plague (bubonic plague) was confirmed in the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University. In accordance with the requirements of the autonomous region’s plague control emergency plan, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region People’s Government decided to activate a four-level emergency response from 23:00 on the 19th.

Plague, this ancient zoonotic disease quickly became a hot search, and netizens sighed, why is the plague again? Re-emerging?

According to the data of the National Health and Medical Commission, people have been diagnosed with plague in recent years, with 1 case in 2021, 4 cases and 3 deaths in 2020, and 5 cases and 1 death in 2019.

What is the plague, bubonic plague? How did the plague spread? How to prevent the plague?

What is the plague?

Public plague was once known as the “Black Death” in the world. It is a severe infectious disease caused by the infection of Yersinia pestis. It is also a Class A infectious disease in my country’s legal infectious diseases. in the first place.

According to the clinical manifestations and disease characteristics, plague is divided into mild plague, bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, septicemic plague and other types. Different types have different incubation periods. For example, bubonic plague is 2 to 8 days, while pneumonic plague can be as short as a few hours to 2 to 3 days.

Plague is characterized by rapid onset, short course of disease, high mortality, strong infectivity, and rapid spread. Especially septicemic plague and pneumonic plague, if untreated, the fatality rate is 30% to 100%.

Clinical studies have shown that bubonic plague is the most common type of plague, accounting for more than 80% of plague cases, with a high cure rate.

How is the plague spread? What are the symptoms after infection?

Plague is a natural foci (even without the participation of humans or domestic animals, it can also infect the host through a vector to cause an epidemic) infectious disease, mainly in rodents and marmots, through fleas The main ways of human infection of plague are:

It is infected by fleas biting sick mice and then biting people, or people peeling infected marmot skins or eating other infected animals. The way often causes bubonic plague or septicemic plague.

Pneumonic plague is the mode of human-to-human transmission, that is, after a healthy person comes into contact with a patient suffering from pneumonic plague, the infection is inhaled through the respiratory tract. This way of infection is mainly pneumonic plague.

In terms of population susceptibility, the population is generally susceptible, and field workers, close contacts or predators of marmots, and herdsmen are high-risk groups. Long-lasting immunity can be obtained after plague infection, and a certain immunity can be obtained by vaccination.

The clinical manifestations of plague infection include high fever, swollen and painful lymph nodes, cough, expectoration, dyspnea, bleeding, and other symptoms of severe poisonous blood.

How to prevent the plague?

my country has long had a rigorous, scientific and accurate plague prevention and control process:

If a suspected or confirmed patient is found, the epidemic situation should be reported immediately by emergency telephone and online, within 2 hours in cities and no more than 2 hours in rural areas. More than 6 hours;

At the same time, the patients should be strictly isolated, no visitation or mutual communication between patients, the patient’s excrement should be thoroughly disinfected, and the death of the patient should be cremated; , pneumonic plague patients should be in a separate room, and cannot live in the same room with other plague patients; Negative;

The plague contacts should be quarantined for 9 days, and the quarantine period should be extended to 12 days for those who have received vaccination.

In terms of specific pathogen treatment, the principle is early, combined, sufficient, and sensitive antibiotics.

Hou Yongyue, a second-level researcher at the Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Inner Mongolia Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, said that with the continuous advancement of science and technology, plague is no longer synonymous with death, it is completely preventable, controllable and curable.

How can the public protect themselves?

It is necessary to strictly follow the requirements of the “three noes and three reports” for plague prevention and control, earnestly do a good job in personal protection, and improve self-protection awareness and ability.

“Three Nos”: Do not hunt the animals at the source of the epidemic without permission, do not strip or eat the animals at the source of the epidemic, and do not carry the animals and their products out of the epidemic area without permission.

“Three Reports”: report the discovery of sick (dead) marmots and other animals, report the discovery of suspected plague patients, and report the discovery of patients with unexplained high fever and sudden death.

You should maintain good personal hygiene habits, try to avoid going to crowded places, and wear a mask in time when you go to a medical institution or when you have fever, cough and other related symptoms.

If you suspect that you have been in contact with the case, you can report to the local disease control department and obtain professional guidance. If you have symptoms such as fever, cough, lymph node pain, hemoptysis or bleeding, you should seek medical attention in time.

Do not camp overnight in grasslands when traveling, minimize contact with wild animals, do not play with marmots whose health status is unknown, prevent flea bites, use repellents, reduce body exposure, and avoid being Flea bites, do not hunt or eat wild animals without permission.