The Bubonic plague, one of the deadliest outbreaks in history that swept over Europe and Asia in 1347 and killed 25 million people, has not made a return, but a related disease has been spotted in China called Pneumonic plague.

 Pneumonic Plague has been diagnosed in three people in Beijing, two of whom were being treated in the hospital, and recently a 55-year-old man caught the disease by eating a wild rabbit. After people heard the news of the Pneumonic plague, panic started to spark among citizens. 

Pneumonic plague is an infection that affects the lungs and is caused by a bacteria called yersinia pestis. There are many common symptoms including fever, headache, cough and uncommon symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath. Once a person is in contact with this bacteria, it will not affect them immediately, but it will take around three to seven days to experience symptoms once exposed. This disease is airborne, which means it is contracted from one person to another. In order to be infected, someone has to be in close contact with the ill person or animal. Although this form of infection is just one of three other related illnesses, such as septicemic plague and bubonic plague, pneumonic plague is more dangerous because it infects the lungs. Unlike the other illnesses that do not infect the lungs.

 With the case of the 55-year-old man and the infected rabbit, this happened in inner Mongolia. Same with the two other infected patients, both also came from inner Mongolia too. “Pneumonic plague may be less famous than the bubonic form, but it’s even more deadly, and that’s what the first two patients have come down with. It’s not clear exactly how they caught it, but they didn’t catch it in Beijing,” according to Sigal Samuel, via Vox. 

The patients traveled to Beijing to seek medical treatment, but the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention told the residents of Beijing not to worry about the disease spreading since there is a low risk of the plague spreading and infecting someone. 

“Last month, the authorities in China said they would strengthen quarantine measures to prevent the plague from entering the country after Madagascar was struck by a fast-spreading outbreak of the disease,” according to Sui-Lee Wee, The New York Times.

“Stay there, and do not spread it to the whole wide world. They should try to cure it,” said Kaniyah Lewis, freshmen.

With the recent studies about Pneumonic plague, the studies showed that the plague will be quarantined so the plague will not spread. “I hope it does not become a pandemic,” said H’nhuyen Eban, freshmen.

 Although officials say that the plague was never been dispersed, everyone will have to take precautions and stay vigilant.