Yes—bubonic plague has a long history in both Russia and China, and both still have occasional cases today, though modern outbreaks are small, localized, and treatable with antibiotics. The bacterium is Yersinia pestis, maintained in wild rodent populations and usually transmitted to people by fleas. [1][2]
Historical role
- China: The third plague pandemic began in Yunnan province around 1855 and spread through southern China, including Canton and Hong Kong, before reaching much of the world through shipping and trade. Yunnan had long-standing endemic plague before that expansion. [3][4]
- Russia: Plague appeared repeatedly in the Caspian–Ural region in the late 19th century, including a major Astrakhan epidemic in 1879. The last major Russian outbreak was the 1910–11 Manchurian/Siberian epidemic, associated with marmot hunting and spread along the Chinese Eastern Railway; it killed roughly 60,000 people. [3][4]
- Black Death connection: The 14th-century pandemic likely moved through Central Asian trade networks, with proposed source regions including areas near the Gobi, southeastern Russia, and Central Asia; the exact origin remains debated. [5]
Why the regions remain affected
Plague is enzootic in parts of Siberia, Mongolia, northern China, and Central Asia: it circulates persistently among wild rodents such as marmots and ground squirrels. Humans are usually infected when flea bites follow contact with infected animals, or sometimes through handling or eating them. [2][6]
Current risk
Cases still occur sporadically in China, Mongolia, Russia, the United States, and elsewhere, but globally there are typically only a few hundred human cases per year, concentrated mainly in Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo. [1]
|
Feature |
Bubonic plague today |
|
Main transmission |
Fleas from infected rodents; not normally person-to-person [1][6] |
|
Typical symptom |
Painful swollen lymph nodes (“buboes”), plus fever and weakness [2] |
|
Untreated outcome |
Roughly 30–60% fatal [1] |
|
With early antibiotics |
Usually treatable; public-health systems can test, trace contacts, and isolate high-risk pneumonic cases [1] |
Recent Russia-China context
A recent death at Russia’s Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute drew attention, but official reports described severe pneumonia of uncertain cause; plague has not been confirmed as the cause. The WHO characterized the apparent public-health risk as low pending more information. [1][2]
In short: Russia and China are historically central to plague’s story and remain part of its natural geographic range, but “bubonic plague in Russia and China” today generally means rare rural, animal-linked cases—not a return of medieval-scale epidemics. [1][2]
⁂
- https://theconversation.com/russian-plague-scare-an-expert-explains-what-we-know-so-far-and-why-theres-no-need-to-panic-293729
- https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/death-russian-plague-researcher-explained-microbiologist
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2632865/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_plague
- https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/origins-bubonic-plague
- https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/07/06/russian-experts-not-worried-about-bubonic-plague-outbreak-on-mongolian-border-a70791
- https://www.themoscowtimes.com/all/68449?amp=1
- https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cxdd8035jzn3o
- https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/03/russia-tightens-border-control-over-chinese-bubonic-plague-scare-a68449
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubonic_plague
