Two people in China have been diagnosed with pneumonic plague, igniting a panic in the country on Tuesday, according to The New York Times.
What happened
Two patients from Inner Mongolia are being treated in Beijing for what officials have confirmed is pneumonic plague, the Times reported.
The Chinese government is telling citizens that the risk of the highly infectious disease spreading is “extremely low” and that they are investigating any people or sites that may have been exposed. However, there are still “mounting fears” in China about a possible outbreak, according to the Times.
This is the second case of plague this year in China. A couple from Mongolia died of bubonic plague earlier this year after eating raw marmot meat, according to USA Today.
How do you get the plague?
There are three strains of plague, which all originate from the same bacterium, Yersinia pestis, according to CNN.
This bacteria is common in rodents (such as mice, chipmunks, and squirrels) and is usually transmitted by fleas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Humans most commonly contract plague when they are bitten by infected fleas, the CDC reports. However, the disease can also be spread through direct contact with infected animals or humans, and in the case of pneumonic plague, through the air by coughing.
Plague outbreaks
During the Middle Ages in Europe, an outbreak of bubonic plague turned into a pandemic that caused the deaths of millions of people. The Black Death killed nearly 60% of the population of Europe during that time, according to The Guardian.
Although the disease is less common today, there have still been outbreaks of plague in recent years.
There were 3,248 cases of the plague reported worldwide between 2010 and 2015, according to the World Health Organization.
In 2017, there was an outbreak in Madagascar that affected 2,348 people and caused 202 deaths, The Guardian reported.
There are occasionally cases of the plague in the United States, as well. There were 16 cases and four deaths related to the plague in the US in 2014, including one man from Utah, according to The Guardian.