CHINA: OUTBREAK OF PNEUMONIC PLAGUE

ENTIRE TOWN IN QUARANTINE AFTER
THREE DIE FROM PNEUMONIC PLAGUE IN CHINA

PEKIN - An outbreak of pneumonic plague has killed three people in China and forced the lockdown of a remote town of 10,000 to halt the further spread of one of the world’s deadliest and most contagious diseases. Those infected were undergoing treatment in isolation in a local Tibetan hospital while all 10,000 residents of Ziketan were placed in quarantine to try to halt the spread of one of the deadliest diseases in history. Pneumonic plague is spread through the air and can be passed from person to person through coughing, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). It is caused by the same bacteria that occurs in bubonic plague — the Black Death that killed an estimated 25 million people in Europe during the Middle Ages. The WHO said that it was not unduly concerned by the outbreak.

China has eradicated the plague from most parts of the country, but still reports occasional cases in remote western Tibetan areas where the disease is carried by rats and the marmots that live across the huge Himalayan plateau. Outbreaks can be caused when Tibetans eat an infected marmot or come into contact with fleas carried by rats. The local government has already launched a campaign to kill rats, marmots and other possible carriers in the area where the latest outbreak was reported. One medical expert said that it was important for Tibetans to take great care when burying their meat in the ground for cooler storage to prevent rodents from finding the stash and infecting it. One woman resident said that county officials distributed flyers and made television and radio announcements on how to prevent infection. The woman said that police checkpoints had been set up in a 17-mile (28km) radius around Ziketan and residents were not allowed to leave.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

By practice, one should avoid eating in such a way that other living entities will be disturbed and suffer. Since I suffer when pinched or killed by others, I should not attempt to pinch or kill any other living entity. People do not know that because of killing innocent animals they themselves will have to suffer severe reactions from material nature. Any country where people indulge in unnecessary killing of animals will have to suffer from wars and pestilence imposed by material nature. Comparing one's own suffering to the suffering of others, therefore, one should be kind to all living entities. One cannot avoid the sufferings inflicted by providence, and therefore when suffering comes one should fully absorb oneself in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.

Srila A.C. BV Swami Prabhupada:
"The Srimad Bhagavatam - Purport in Canto 7 - Chapter 15 - Verse 24"