Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6736993.ece 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. Pneumonic plague is spread through the air and can be passed from person to person through coughing, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). It is caused by the same bacteria that occurs in bubonic plague — the Black Death that killed an estimated 25 million people in Europe during the Middle Ages. The WHO said that it was not unduly concerned by the outbreak. Beijing-based spokeswoman Vivian Tan said: “This is not new. There have been sporadic cases reported over the years. We're not surprised that it's come up. We're in constant contact with the authorities to make sure things are under control." 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. A food seller at the Crystal Alley Market in Ziketan said authorities have advised that homes and shops should be disinfected and residents should wear masks when they go out. He said that 80 per cent of shops in the town were closed and prices of disinfectants and some vegetables have tripled. “People are so scared. There are few people on the streets. There are police guarding the quarantine centre at the township hospital but not on the streets.” One woman resident said that county officials distributed flyers and made television and radio announcements on how to prevent infection. The woman said that police checkpoints had been set up in a 17-mile (28km) radius around Ziketan and residents were not allowed to leave. In 2004, eight villagers in Qinghai province died of plague, most of them infected after killing or eating wild marmots.
