Beijing residents fearful after outbreak of plague

Chinese authorities say they have it under control, but citizens fear a lack of transparency might hide a wider contagion

Beijing hospital
Beijing Chaoyang Hospital of Capital Medical University
(Image credit: 2019 VCG)

Authorities in Beijing have called for calm after it emerged that two people from Inner Mongolia had been diagnosed with pneumonic plague.

It is a severe bacterial lung infection, and a variant of the Black Death that ravaged Europe during the 14th Century.

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William Gritten

William Gritten is a London-born, New York-based strategist and writer focusing on politics and international affairs.