China Probing 5 Pneumonic Plague Cases in Tibet, UN Agency Says

Health authorities in China sent experts to the Tibet Autonomous Region, where five cases of pneumonic plague were reported, the World Health Organization in Beijing said.

The cases were reported in Lang county of Linzhi region. Four of the patients were in close contact with a person who died of the bacterial infection, and are being isolated and treated, WHO said in an e-mailed statement today. One of the patients is critical and the three others are in stable condition.

Chinese health officials will conduct epidemiological investigations, trace close contacts, and undertake prevention, control and treatment measures in the area, the United Nations health agency said. They have also alerted people who were in the affected area after Sept. 18 to seek help at the local center for disease control if they develop fever, cough or other symptoms, WHO said.