Don’t be afraid of the plague in the northern grasslands, it is no longer synonymous with death
The struggle of mankind with scientific weapons against the plague has won. Paying attention to prevention can avoid the plague epidemic. The few plague cases in Inner Mongolia did not cause a large-scale epidemic, which fully proved the importance of prevention.
A few days ago, a suspected case of bubonic plague was reported by the People's Hospital of Wulatezhongqi, Bayannaoer City, Inner Mongolia. The local government issued a three-level early warning of plague prevention and control on July 5th. In accordance with the requirements of the national and autonomous region plague control emergency plan, Bayannaoer City Health Commission will release and adjust the early warning information in time according to the classification of early warning of plague epidemic situation.
Since last year, several cases of bubonic plague infection have occurred in Xilinguole League, Ulan Qab City and Bayannaoer City of Inner Mongolia (the suspected cases reported in Bayannaoer City have been diagnosed on July 5th), causing widespread concern in the society .
The plague has harmed mankind for more than ten centuries. From the global pandemic in the past to the occurrence of today's cases, the development of scientific research and medical technology has made this infamous infectious disease no longer terrible.
Severe infectious disease caused by Yersinia pestis
The plague was once called the "black death" internationally. It is a severe infectious disease caused by Y. pestis infection, and it is also a Class A infectious disease among my country's legal infectious diseases.
As a natural infectious disease, plague is prevalent among rodents. Clinical manifestations are high fever, swollen lymph nodes, pain, cough, sputum, difficulty breathing, bleeding, and other severe venomous symptoms.
"According to clinical manifestations and morbidity, plague is divided into light plague, bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, septic plague and other types. Different types have different incubation periods. For example, the incubation period of bubonic plague is 2-8 days ; The incubation period of pneumonic plague is several hours to two or three days.
According to medical experts, clinical evidence shows that bubonic plague is the most common type of plague, accounting for more than 80% of plague cases. The onset of bubonic plague began suddenly, with obvious toxic blood symptoms, manifested as sudden chills, chills, and high fever, and the body temperature quickly rose to 39 ℃ -40 ℃, at the same time there were obvious dizziness headache, body and limb pain, facial flushing In combination with membrane congestion, nausea and vomiting may also occur. Most people with bubonic plague will experience extreme failure, such as accelerated pulse and breathing, decreased blood pressure, unconsciousness, sometimes petechiae and petechiae on the skin and mucous membranes, and may have symptoms such as epistaxis, blood in the urine, and blood in the stool. The most obvious is the rapid enlargement of the lymph nodes, which changes significantly every day or even every hour.
Primary pneumonic plague is caused by direct infection of the respiratory tract. Chest pain, cough, and sputum appear a few hours after the onset. The sputum quickly changes from a small amount to a large amount of bright red blood sputum. Infected persons have difficulty breathing and cyanosis symptoms quickly, wet lung rales can be heard in the lungs, and respiratory sounds are reduced. The signs and symptoms of patients are often disproportionate, and severe patients die of heart failure and shock within 2-3 days.
The sepsis-type plague, also known as fulminant plague, is divided into secondary and primary. The secondary sepsis-type plague develops rapidly, with systemic toxemia symptoms, bleeding, confusion, delirium or coma. Patients often die within 3 days. The patient's skin had extensive bleeding, ecchymosis, and cyanosis.
Experts said that both bubonic plague and other types of plague have the characteristics of high lethality, rapid transmission and high infection rate. Statistics show that with the development of modern infectious disease research and the advancement of anti-epidemic technology, the mortality rate of plague has been well controlled.
The fight against prevention never stops
Why is the spread of plague so strong? Zhang Zhigang, a special engineer at the Inner Mongolia Institute of Biotechnology, told reporters: "The spread of plague is diversified. First, people can be infected by viruses when they are bitten by fleas with plague bacteria. Second, people have been exposed to plague-infected animals (mainly rodents). And marmots) can also be infected; in addition, if stripping of dead animals with plague, plague bacteria enter the human wound and cause infection; in addition, inhalation of dust in the fur can also cause infection; and food is not fully cooked When the infected animals are cooked, the virus will spread through the digestive tract. In short, the multi-channel and rapid infection characteristics determine that the spread of the plague is far stronger than other infectious diseases. The disease has fought for more than ten centuries."
In the history of human development, the plague is definitely considered to be the enemy of the number one infectious disease for human survival, development, and progress. The three plagues of the world have been terrifying so far.
The first plague occurred in the 6th century. This epidemic lasted for nearly 60 years. At the worst of the epidemic, 5000-10000 people died every day, and the total deaths were nearly 100 million.
The second pandemic occurred in the 14th century, and this pandemic lasted nearly 300 years, killing about 25 million people in Europe alone.
The third was the plague that suddenly broke out in 1894, triggering a global pandemic. It reached its highest peak in the 1930s, affecting 60 countries in Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa, killing more than 10 million people. The rapid spread of this epidemic and the spread of the area far exceeded that of the previous two pandemics. The epidemic is characterized by the fact that the epidemic areas are mostly distributed in coastal cities and nearby densely populated residential areas.
Shortly before the third plague outbreak, humans found the culprit of Yersinia pestis: Yersinia (Yersinia pestis). Zhang Zhigang said: "After plague bacillus invades the human body, it will immediately cause basic diseases, resulting in damage to blood vessel and lymphatic endothelial cells and acute hemorrhagic and necrotic lesions; lymphadenopathy often fuses with surrounding tissues, forming large and small lumps, which appear dark red or Grayish-yellow; extensive bleeding in the spleen and bone marrow; bleeding points on the skin and mucous membranes, and bloody fluid in the serous cavity; hemorrhagic inflammation in the heart, liver, and kidneys, and bronchial or lobar pneumonia, and hemorrhagic slurry in the bronchi and alveoli Sexual exudation and scattered necrotic nodules caused by bacterial embolism."
Hou Yongyue emphasized: "It is worth mentioning that it was during this plague epidemic that mankind formally began to use scientific weapons to fight the plague: humans clarified that the pathogen of plague is plague bacillus, and mastered the spread of plague. The international quarantine measures have been strengthened so that the plague pandemic that has spread the fastest and most widely in human history has been quickly and effectively controlled."
Use scientific weapons to prevent, control and cure
Hou Yongyue told reporters: "Humans have used scientific weapons to fight the plague for more than a century, and have won. And paying attention to prevention can avoid the plague epidemic. In recent months, several plague cases in Inner Mongolia have not The epidemic of large-scale infections can fully prove the importance of prevention."
China has a rigorous, scientific, and precise plague control process: if a suspected or confirmed patient is found, the epidemic situation must be reported immediately through emergency telephones and the Internet. The city should not exceed 2 hours, and the rural area should not exceed 6 hours; at the same time, the patients are strictly isolated and visits are prohibited Interact with patients; patients' excrement should be thoroughly disinfected, and patients should be cremated when they die. Patients of various types of plague are isolated separately, and patients with pneumonic plague should be isolated separately, and cannot share the same room with other patients with plague; patients with bubonic plague are isolated until lymph nodes are completely dissipated and observed for another 7 days; patients with pneumonic plague must be isolated to sputum culture 6 times Negative. Contact persons with plague should be quarantined for 9 days. For those who have received vaccination, the quarantine period should be extended to 12 days.
Medical experts said that in terms of specific pathogen treatment, in principle, early, combined, and sufficient application of sensitive antibacterial drugs. For example, streptomycin is a special drug for the treatment of various types of plague, and the dosage should be increased in severe cases; streptomycin can be used in combination with sulfonamides or tetracycline to improve the efficacy. Sulfa drugs should be used for mild and bubonic plague, and with the same amount of sodium bicarbonate, the drug should be stopped after 3 to 5 days of normal body temperature. In the treatment, drugs such as β-lactams, quinolones, and third-generation cephalosporins can also be used.
Hou Yongyue said: "In the face of the plague, we must first be clear. With the continuous progress of science and technology, the plague is no longer synonymous with death. It is completely preventable and controllable. In China, the prevention of plague is still based on prevention. 2019 In 2001, several plague cases in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region were related to wild animals on the grassland. This also reminds us again that the most fundamental and effective way to prevent plague is still the old-fashioned human survival rule: only respect nature and respect nature In order to live in harmony with nature, we will not bring viruses from the natural world into human society, and we are safe ourselves."