In China, there are several natural foci of plague. They are both in the north, in Tibet and in southern China, on the border with India. Annually in the world registered more than two thousand cases of plague, including in wealthy countries such as the US and Canada. In Russia, the plague was not with the 70s of the last century.
Plague in China in 2009
In summer 2009, in the Northwest of China in the area of Tibet (natural foci of plague) was closed for quarantine Ziketan Town city because of the outbreak of pneumonic plague, from which several people died. As you know, pneumonic plague - this is the most dangerous in the epidemiological form of plague.
But Russian epidemiologists seemed unclear why were not previously documented cases of bubonic plague. The fact that the outbreak in the natural foci of plague begin with the skin or the bubonic form. This is easily explained, because the plague is transmitted by fleas from rodents or directly through the skin upon contact with a sick animal. The skin is not an obstacle for the causative agent of plague, he quickly overcomes this barrier and lymphatic vessels directed to the nearby lymph nodes, where it causes inflammation. Ill with bubonic plague can be caught rodent by removing the skins and so on.
But the problem is that the pneumonic plague can get sick just from the man. It starts outbreak of diseases such as bubonic plague patient
Bubonic plague - the least contagious
complication begins as secondary pneumonic plague
Pneumonic plague - an instant infection
. In this case, the patient becomes infectious and infects others.
The question arises: in China in 2009, there were no cases of bubonic plague, then where did pneumonic plague? Epidemiologists in 2009 dealt with the case, but their conclusions are obviously lost in the sea of new news. A pity, because involuntarily arise two types of events. The first version (the most realistic) - bubonic plague just watched and did not close in time to the quarantine location. The second option (of science fiction) - pneumonic plague was brought in from the outside. Location - who knows?
Previously, Russian epidemiologists have always taken an active part in the elimination of all outbreaks of the plague, especially if they occur close to our borders. Obviously, things have changed, if we did not know why and how the epidemic began.
What other natural foci of plague have in our country and on the borders with neighboring countries
Obviously, we will not soon finish with the plague
Plague - whether justified reputation of the "black death"?
, Such as smallpox. The problem is that there are geographic areas where plague is circulating in the body of rodents constantly. Typically, outbreaks in these areas are associated with a confluence of time to sleep animals, so most cases are usually recorded in spring and summer.
Zones of distribution
Geographic location determine the spread of the plague do not rodents and vectors of plague - a flea. Fleas can not survive in cold areas, so all foci of plague are in areas with warm or temperate climate. In Russia, there are pockets in Kalmykia, Astrakhan and Volgograd regions, Tuva, Altai Mountains, Chita Region, and others. Thus, the Caspian region natural foci include black earth and the Nogai steppe, where swine are carriers of small gopher and midday gerbil. The epizootic (disease outbreak among animals) involved rodents, and jerboa, living in the territory.
On the borders of Russia is also very unfavorable. So, Mongolian-Transbaikalian natural foci of plague zone covers the southern regions of the Chita Region, Tuva, Altai Mountains, a large part of the territory of Mongolia and China. Natural carriers of plague in these areas are rodents such as tarbagan Mongolian pika, Mongolian gerbil, and the white-naped tailed ground squirrels.
Tibetan area of natural foci of plague takes place in the northern part of the Tibetan Plateau, where the main carriers of the plague is the Himalayan Marmot.
Central Asian plain zone is located within the desert and semi-deserts of Central Asia, Kazakhstan and the North-East Caspian region between the Volga and the Urals. The main carriers of plague here are great and midday gerbil, a small squirrel.
Banded zone is located on the territory of Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Central and South Caucasus. The carriers of the plague here are red-chickweed, persian chickweed, common vole, rock squirrel.
On other continents, natural foci of plague no less. Therefore, the problem is not to completely eliminate the plague (which is impossible), but to keep pockets of infection under constant supervision, so that there were no surprises in the form of nowhere the undertaken outbreak of pneumonic plague.
Galina Romanenko
