A rumor about finding fleas or insect eggs with plague-causing bacteria on products purchased online from China is false, the Centers for Disease Control said yesterday.
The centers said on Friday that China confirmed a fourth case of the plague. A person living in Inner Mongolia ate raw wild rabbit and was infected with bubonic plague, one of three types of the plague.
The first case was confirmed in September after a person living in Gansu Province died of septicemic plague, followed by two cases of pneumonic plague contracted by a married couple in Inner Mongolia on Nov. 12, the CDC said.
Photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control
The centers said the Beijing Municipal Health Commission does not consider the fourth case to be associated with the second and third cases.
In response to the rumor that fleas or insect eggs with plague bacterium might be brought into Taiwan from clothes purchased online from China, the CDC yesterday said that the plague cannot be transmitted in this way.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said that when a flea bites an infected rat or mouse, the plague-causing bacteria Yersinia pestis enters the digestive tract of the flea and forms a biofilm in the foregut, causing the flea’s digestive tract to be blocked.
The infected flea starves because of the blocked digestive tract and starts biting animals, transmitting the bacteria to new hosts, he said, adding that therefore, infected fleas would not be found on clothes or packaging materials.
Lo said that cargo ships or aircraft have a higher chance of transmitting the plague if live rodents or other vectors are on board. In response, the CDC has enhanced quarantine measures at harbors and airports.
To lower the risk of infection, the CDC urged people not to approach rodents, eat raw meat or touch dead animals when visiting Inner Mongolia or areas where the plague might be spreading.
The centers also asked people to report to the centers’ airport quarantine stations and seek medical assistance if they feel any discomfort after returning to Taiwan.
Additional reporting by CNA
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