A third person has contracted the plague this month after eating a wild rabbit. Chinese health authorities have confirmed he is being treated for bubonic plague, the Daily Mail reported. .
Chinese health authorities confirmed that the 55-year-old person lived in the same area where two other plague cases were also diagnosed this month, the Shilingol district of Inner Mongolia, China. The third was discovered.
According to the Daily Mail, regular plague infections have been eliminated worldwide, but there are still cases reported in China, and the infection can be fatal in up to 90% of cases if not treated properly.
The bubonic form of the plague is most famous for causing the Black Death which killed about one third of Europeans in the Middle Ages.
The third case is plague when hunting and eating a wild rabbit. The infection is usually spread by fleas and may jump to humans when they come into contact with animals or eat their flesh.
Earlier this month, doctors in Beijing discovered plague cases for a man and his wife, and received medical care.
The plague is caused by a bacterium called Yesinia pestis, which usually spreads from fleas to small mammals such as mice, squirrels and rabbits.
This may then spread to people if they eat animal flesh, flea bites, or have direct contact with an infected animal or person.
The plague then attacks the immune system, leading to swelling of the glands in the armpit and inguinal, causing fever and gangrene.