China Reports One Human Infection of Bubonic Plague in Northwestern Region of Ningxia

A bubonic plague smear, prepared from a lymph removed from an adenopathic lymph node, or bubo, of a plague patient, demonstrates the presence of the Yersinia pestis bacteria that causes the plague in this undated photo. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Getty Images)

BEIJING—The northwestern Chinese region of Ningxia reported one human infection of plague, state television said late on Tuesday.

The caseload of human plague infection, a highly infectious and severe disease, is low in China, with just one in 2021 and no deaths, down from four infections and three deaths in 2020, according to data from the National Health Commission, which does not specify the types of plague for each person.

The infected person had arrived in Ningxia from an outside area, state television said. It did not provide further details.

The actual number of casualties from such events may be much higher, as the Chinese regime routinely suppresses or alters information.

The latest case was bubonic plague, state television said. Bubonic plague is the most common plague form of human plague and less severe than a lung-based type, which can be fatal if not diagnosed and treated early, the World Health Organization said.

By Roxanne Liu and Ryan Woo