Pneumonic Plague Rages in China............

Plague cases have been increasing in 19 provinces of China since the 1990s, Xinhua reported yesterday. The country had 206 cases between 2001 and 2005, with 24 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health. Two cases were reported last year, both of them fatal. There were two cases in 2007, of which one was fatal, and one non-fatal case in 2006, according to ministry statistics.“This is the first time in recent years that they have made an official report to us, so there’s nothing to compare it to,” the WHO’s Tan said today.The plague-affected area, situated northeast of Tibet, is adequately supplied with necessities and people’s lives are “normal,” the local health authority said in a statement three days ago. (AND WE KNOW HOW TRUTHFULL AND FORTHCOMING THE CHINESE ARE )Ziketan, in the eastern part of Qinghai, has a population of about 10,000 people. The local health department said anyone who has visited Ziketan and the surrounding areas since July 16 and has developed a fever or a cough should seek treatment at a hospital. Ziketan is 144 kilometers (89 miles) southwest of the Qinghai provincial capital of Xining, which in turn is almost a 3-hour flight west of Beijing.