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  • 2020-08-05 (xsd:date)
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  • These photos have circulated in online posts unrelated to bubonic plague detected in China in 2020 (en)
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  • Six photos have been shared more than a hundred times in multiple Facebook posts about the detection of bubonic plague in China in July 2020. The photos have been shared in a misleading context; all six have circulated in online reports that are unrelated to recent plague cases in China. The photos were published on Facebook here on July 15, 2020. The post has been shared more than 170 times. A screenshot of the misleading post taken on August 3, 2020 The post’s caption states: BUBONIC PLAGUE: Health authorities in China are on high alert after a suspected case of the bubonic plague. The disease, which can be fatal in up to 90% of people infected if not treated, caused the Black Death pandemic. The post links to a July 7, 2020 Associated Press report , which reads in part: While China appears to have reduced coronavirus cases to near zero, other infectious threats remain, with local health authorities announcing a suspected bubonic plague case in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. A bubonic plague case was reported in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region in northern China, on July 5, 2020, as stated in this AFP report. WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told reporters at a virtual briefing that the situation was being well managed and was not considered high risk. Plague is an infectious disease caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria. Its symptoms can include blackening and death of the skin and other tissues, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . The same set of photos was also shared alongside a similar claim here on Facebook. The photos, however, have been shared in a misleading context. Reverse image and keyword searches traced them to online posts that are unrelated to the plague detected in China in July 2020. First photo The photo of a woman with an umbrella and several people riding bikes in a busy street shows China’s capital Beijing during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was taken by a European Pressphoto Agency photographer and can be found on the news agency’s website here . The photo is captioned: Morning rush hour in Beijing, China, 03 July 2020. Beijing has recently seen a spike in coronavirus infections. EPA-EFE/ROMAN PILIPEY. Second photo The photo that shows water being poured on a hand covered with black lesions is a stock photo of Third degree burns. It was published here by Getty Images. Third photo The photo showing what appears to be blackened fingers has been previously shared here in a Pinterest post about a Halloween costume on November 1, 2018. The picture is labelled, in part: Halloween Costumes / Bubonic Plague. Fourth photo The photo of red and black abrasions on a thigh does in fact show a patient with the plague, but it does not show a recent case in China. It was published by the CDC in 1975 here . Fifth photo The photo of an arm with reddish boils has previously appeared in this June 20, 2016 post on Medium. The writer states he thought it was bubonic plague, but I went to a specialist doctor... and after looking at my boils, and hearing my theory, she said: ‘This is definitely not Yersinia. Unfortunately it is much worse: shingles.’ Shingles is a painful skin rash, caused by the varicella zoster virus. Sixth photo The photo showing a person whose face is covered with sores has previously circulated in old online posts about smallpox , for example here in 2014 and here in 2016. Below are a set of screenshot comparisons that show the photos in the misleading posts (L) and the photos that have appeared in reports unrelated to the July 2020 plague detection in China (R): Screenshot comparison (en)
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