China plague death prompts alert

[hulaku]

By Michael Bristow
BBC News, Beijing



Thousands of people have been placed in quarantine in north-western China after a man died of pneumonic plague.

Chinese authorities say the man who died was a 32-year-old herdsman from a sparsely populated area mostly inhabited by Tibetans.

Most of the other 11 people infected with the disease are relatives of the dead man.

The local government has not yet said when the man died but it has sealed off the town where the outbreak occurred.

It says there are enough supplies to feed the 10,000 or so people who live in the town of Ziketan, near Xinghai in Qinghai province, during the quarantine period.

Pneumonic plague is a virulent form of the disease that attacks the lungs. It can spread from person to person, or from animals to people.

Initial symptoms include fever, headache and shortness of breath.
To reduce the chances of death, anyone infected needs to receive treatment within 24 hours of the first symptoms.

This is not the only contagious disease that China is grappling with at the moment.

It has taken very strict measures to control the spread of swine flu - which has also led to thousands of people being quarantined.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8180300.stm

[Aeroflot]

RIP to the dead man. Sucks to be having plague problems still

[rolls]

Good God, and i was just chasing this skanky ass looking rat around the warehouse at work this afternoon. :(

[Connaught Ranger]

Chinese authorities say the man who died was a 32-year-old herdsman from a sparsely populated area mostly inhabited by Tibetans.

R.I.P. to the victim,Like a sparsely populated area mostly inhabited by Tibetans has any thing to do with it.:roll:

[rkpo]

....Like a sparsely populated area mostly inhabited by Tibetans has any thing to do with it.:roll:

Given that mortality from the plague is near 100% if left untreated, but only about 60% if treated promptly - you wouldnt want authorities just wiping their hands and letting the disease run out of bodies within containment. The article sounds like they just isolated the town and made sure they've got enough food to do just that. Maybe becuase they're Tibetan!!! A long bow but that the only reason I can think of, other then some vague geographical reference so the rest of the world has a rough idea where its occuring.

[Dartthedark]

Rip to the dead! I would consider it as some progress made since last a few plagues in China. The gov't atleast could let the world know something bad's happening before getting spread all over

[Connaught Ranger]

Given that mortality from the plague is near 100% if left untreated, but only about 60% if treated promptly - you wouldnt want authorities just wiping their hands and letting the disease run out of bodies within containment. The article sounds like they just isolated the town and made sure they've got enough food to do just that. Maybe becuase they're Tibetan!!! A long bow but that the only reason I can think of, other then some vague geographical reference so the rest of the world has a rough idea where its occuring.

Or an attempt to suggest Tibetans are somehow responsible for the disease.:|

[Jaegermeister + Red Bull]

Given that mortality from the plague is near 100% if left untreated, but only about 60% if treated promptly - you wouldnt want authorities just wiping their hands and letting the disease run out of bodies within containment. The article sounds like they just isolated the town and made sure they've got enough food to do just that. Maybe becuase they're Tibetan!!! A long bow but that the only reason I can think of, other then some vague geographical reference so the rest of the world has a rough idea where its occuring.

From wiki...not quite 100%. I think even the Black Death was somewhere between 30-60% mortality, and that was mainly a pneumonic plague in the latter stage. Laboratory conditions are almost never replicated in the field.


Without diagnosis and treatment, the infection can be fatal in one to six days; mortality in untreated cases is 50–90%.[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_(disease)#cite_note-Hoffman1980-3)

[hskywalker]

Those replies are pure genius, I am surprised no one has suggested this plague is a genetic weapon against tibetans yet.:)

[Mordoror]

"And Here Comes the Fourth Horseman"