Two died as plague reported in Tibet
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-06-27 14:26

Two persons died of bubonic plague and three others are recovering from the disease in the Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China, the regional government's information office reported on Saturday.

The outbreak occurred in Zhongba, a county in Xigaze Prefecture bordering Nepal, and has been brought under control, the office said.

The Ministry of Health reported the infections to the World Health Organization and Nepal early Saturday morning.

The disease was discovered when nine people who had come to Zhongba from Mianyang City in southwest China's Sichuan Province ate marmot meat on June 11, and five of them later felt sick.

They went to the county hospital a few days later.

One of them died on June 15, and another succumbed on June 17. The other three are still in the hospital but are recovering.

Tibet's public health department dispatched a 10-member task force to deal with the situation when it received a report on the infections on June 17.

Experts sent by the Ministry of Health arrived in Xigaze on June 20.

The work team traced 76 direct contacts, and 75 of them are now under quarantine and show no abnormal symptoms. The other one went to Nepal, and police are now searching for her.

The quarantine will continue for another 15 days.