No epidemic despite new plague case

Less than a week after two people from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region were quarantined in a hospital in Beijing after being diagnosed with pneumonic plague, health officials in the region confirmed on Sunday reports of a case of bubonic plague.

While the news may have fueled the anxieties of those who fear an epidemic like that in Europe in the 14th century that killed tens of millions of people, the cases do not seem to be linked and there is no indication of an epidemic.

The Inner Mongolia health authorities said they have found no evidence to connect the latest case with the two earlier ones. And thanks to the use of antibiotics, which can treat almost all forms of the plague in their early stages, there is little likelihood of the disease spreading as those who have been in close contact with the three have been given preventative medicine and are being closely monitored.