A group of six Chinese public health experts left for Madagascar in late October to help the country fight the plague. The team was sent in response to a call for help from the country.

Another three medical experts will join the mission in early November.

The plague broke out in Madagascar in August, and more than 1,800 cases had been reported as of Nov 2, including 120 plus fatalities.

On Nov 4, a Chinese traveler with symptoms of fever, cough and bloody sputum was admitted by a Madagascar medical institution and diagnosed with suspected pneumonic plague.

Thanks to the joint efforts of Chinese experts and local medical personnel, the patient has not taken a turn for the worse and continues to receive medical treatment in hospital.

To plan measures for preventing the disease from entering China, China's top health authority, the National Health and Family Planning Commission, has held meetings with a group of ministries and departments including the authorities for exit-entry inspection and quarantine, tourism, and aviation, and the ministries of foreign affairs and commerce.

Experts warn that Chinese citizens in Madagascar should take preventive measures against the disease, such as keeping their living environment clean, eradicating rats and fleas, and avoiding crowded place without air circulation. They should avoid any contact with dead rats, suspected patients and victim remains.

Anyone experiencing fever, cough or enlargement of the lymph nodes should go to hospital immediately.

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Plague is a zoonotic infection caused by Yersinia pestis. It can spread between animals through flea bites. Humans may catch the disease via fleas that are infected by Yersinia pestis, through direct contact with animals infected with Yersinia pestis, or by inhalation of droplets containing Yersinia pestis. Plague can be clinically divided into bubonic plague, septicemia plague, pneumonic plague and skin plague. Late bubonic plague extending to the lung can lead to pneumonic plague, which has a short incubation period of less than 24 hours and can be transmitted through the respiratory tract. It has high rates of infectivity and fatality.