Thailand On Alert After Pneumonic Plague Outbreak In China

[george]

Thailand on alert after pneumonic plague outbreak in China

NONTHABURI: -- Thailand’s Department of Disease Control is closely monitoring China’s pneumonic plague outbreak, and is coordinating with the World Health Organisation despite there having been no occurrence of the malady in Thailand for 57 years, according to a senior health official.

Dr Somchai Chakrabhand, Director-General of the Disease Control Department, said health officials would enforce the Communicable Disease Act in response to the situation once WHO declares the deadly infectious disease as a global pandemic.

A reaction followed the outbreak of pneumonic plague in China’s Ziketan in the northwestern province of Qinghai which killed at least three people.

Currently the town of more than 10,000 people is already sealed off and a team of medical experts has been sent to the area.

Dr Somchai explained that pneumonic plague is caused by the bacteria ‘Yersinia pestis.’ Plague bacillus enters the skin from the site of the bite and travels through the lymphatic system to the nearest lymph node.

It is usually transmitted between animals and humans by the bite of infected fleas, direct contact, inhalation and only rarely, by eating or drinking infected foodstuffs.

Infected persons usually start with flu-like symptoms after an incubation period of 3-7 days. Patients typically experience a sudden onset of fever, chills, head and body-aches and weakness, vomiting and nausea. The untreated patients can die within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary for Public Health Dr Prat Boonyawongviroj added that the disease can be treated by antibiotics. Pneumonic plague as a pandemic last occurred in Thailand in 1952.

-- TNA 2009-08-03

[h90]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yersinia_pestis

not a friendly one.....

[animatic]

Well at least they are in serious watch mode over pandemics

and aren't just brushing it off.

[sunholidaysun1]

Lets hope then that they have enough vaccine to give to everyone here , otherwise you can kiss your butt goodbye.

The drug companies must be laughing all the way to the bank, lets hope its not them that are letting the it out of the labs.

[Jingthing]

Vaccine for plague? I don't think so.

[LaoPo]

Thailand on alert after pneumonic plague outbreak in China

Just for the record:

there are now 3 topics running about the same "Plague" outbreak in China.

1. in Travel forum

2. in General

3. in News clippings

LaoPo

[Ga-gai]

Just what the world needed right now...

[zzaa09]

Just what the world needed right now...

Nature weeding out the herd.

[Mosha]

That's what incurable diseases are for, unfortunately the human race think the rules don't apply to them.

[slimdog]

Just what the world needed right now...

Most people seems to think that the plague was wiped out centuries ago, which is by no means true. The CDC (& P) receives about 1000-3000 cases worldwide each year of which a number are in the USA. Last known death in the USA, was a park ranger in late 2007, but they report on average 10 -15 people a year getting infected within the USA.

Within modern countries, if treated quickly ( ~ 24 hours) by antibiotics then the person will survive.

I have been in south West China on at least two seperate occasions when there were reported cases of the (Bubonic) plague, you only hear about it afterwards if at all, and generally they seal of the village for weeks at a time, and whoever survives is allowed out.

Bit more info can be found at:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague/

[zzaa09]

Vaccine for plague? I don't think so.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_vaccine

[LaoPo]

Dog (after eating a plague-infected marmot; LP) suspected source of China plague: state media

(AFP)

BEIJING — A dog is suspected to be the origin of an outbreak of pneumonic plague in northwest China that has killed three people and left 10,000 under strict quarantine, state media reported.

Ziketan, a remote town in a Tibetan area of Qinghai province, has been locked down since Saturday in an effort to contain the spread of the highly virulent disease.

One patient was in critical condition and seven others were infected, most of them relatives of the first fatality, a 32-year-old herdsman, or local doctors, Xinhua news agency said.

Initial tests had shown that the herdsman's dead dog was the likely origin of the outbreak, Xinhua reported late Wednesday, quoting professor Wang Hu, director of the Qinghai disease control bureau.

Wang said it was likely that the dog died after eating a plague-infected marmot and that the man became infected while burying the dead dog. He died three days later.

"The first victim buried the dead dog without any protection. After he became infected, his relatives and neighbours were in close contact with him without taking any protective measures, leading to their infection," Wang was quoted as saying.

The World Health Organization says the bacteria which causes the plague is endemic in some rodents in the region, such as marmots.

Chinese health ministry experts quoted by Xinhua said the strict quarantine measures were proving effective and the outbreak was unlikely to spread further.

"There is no need to worry about the infection if you travel to Qinghai, not to speak of panic," professor Liang Wannian, deputy director of the ministry's emergency office, was quoted as saying.

The remote and mountainous area is sparsely populated, which is also helping to contain the outbreak.

Residents of Ziketan contacted by AFP Wednesday said some people had tried to flee but it was unclear if any had managed to breach the quarantine zone, which covers an area of 3,500 square kilometres (1,400 square miles) centred on the town.

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.

Source: AFP

LaoPo