Manchurian plague

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The Manchurian plague was an outbreak of pneumonic plague that occurred mainly in Manchuria in 1910–1911. It killed 60,000 people, stimulating a multinational medical response and the wearing of the first personal protective equipment (PPE). The outbreak is thought to have originated from a tarbagan marmot which was carrying Yersinia pestis. The disease was spread when marmot fur hunters gathered together during the winter months, and then infected migrant workers during the Chinese New Year. The Cambridge-trained doctor Wu Lien-teh led Chinese efforts to end the plague, and promoted quarantine and the wearing of cloth face masks as safety measures. The hardest hit cities included Changchun, Harbin, and Mukden (now Shenyang). Although the disease was largely confined to Manchuria, a number of plague cases were reported in cities such as Beijing and Tianjin. The Manchurian plague highlighted the importance of a multinational medical response, setting precedents for organizations such as...

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