Dharamsala, August 4 – A third Tibetan has died of pneumonic plague that already had killed 2 persons in Tsegorthang village (Ch:Ziketan) in Qinghai since July 30, according to official Chinese news agency Xinhua. He was identified as Tendrak (Ch:Danzhi), 64.
Nine others are being quarantined and treated for possible cases of the disease which the World Health Organization says is one of the deadliest infectious diseases and can kill patients within 24 hours of infection.
“Of the nine patients quarantined, one is in a serious condition and another has developed symptoms of coughing and chest pain,” Xinhua said. The nine people have come in close contact with Kunsang, the first man who died due to the plague, according to a Tibetan source in exile.
Medical staffs are disinfecting the region and tracking down people who have been in close contact with those affected by the plague, says Xinhua, adding the local government has quarantined the town and its vicinity.
The local government has issued orders to people who have been in the infected town and its vicinity since July 16 to get themselves checked up.
Pema from Tsegorthang who now lives in Australia told Voice of Tibet radio service that it is believed the disease had come from a dog owned by Kunsang, the first victim of the disease. The second person who died of the disease was Tenzin (Ch:Danzin).
The town covers 3,000 square kilometers and has a population of 10,000.
