Multiple Philippine Facebook accounts have been sharing a viral post wrongly associating an 8-year-old photo with a recent case of the bubonic plague or “black death” in China.
The photo of a blackened right hand uploaded July 7 by the Facebook page Brandsynario is actually from a 2012 incident in Oregon in the United States.
The caption for the misleading post reads:
China Confirms Bubonic Plague Case aka Black Plague
Its status update states:
On Tuesday, #China confirmed a case of a disease that has persisted centuries after it caused the most deadly pandemic in human history -- the bubonic plague.
The case was first discovered in the city of Bayannur, located northwest of Beijing, according to state-run Xinhua news agency.
Source: CNN
A reverse image search shows the photo, owned by the Associated Press, was taken July 11, 2012 by the family of Paul Gaylord, a 59-year-old welder and U.S. army veteran who was recovering from the bubonic plague at a hospital in Bend City in Oregon.
It first appeared in a photo series by the CBS News about Gaylord surviving the “black death” disease which he contracted when he pulled a mouse from the mouth of his cat.
Chinese authorities on July 7 confirmed a case of bubonic plague involving a herdsman in Bayannur in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The Bayannur local health commission has issued a third-level warning for plague prevention and control, urging the public not to hunt and eat animals that could cause the infection.
The bubonic plague is the most common form of plague infection caused by a bacteria from infected fleas transmitted from small mammals such as rodents, according to the World Health Organization.
Although the human to human transmission is rare, the fatality ratio of the bubonic type is at 30 to 60 percent, and is always fatal for the pneumonic kind when left untreated, it said.
WHO, however, does not consider the recent bubonic plague cases as high-risk since it is being “well-managed” by Chinese local health authorities.
WHO said the "Black Death" killed 50 million people during the 14th century. These days however, plague is easily treated with antibiotics and the use of standard precautions to prevent acquiring infection, it added.
Brandsynario, a Facebook page created on July 28, 2009, has 463,685 followers and is related to a public relations platform based in Pakistan that “provides integrated and updated news and information focusing on marketing activities of brands,” according to its website.
The online publishing house Brandsynario, established in 2006, can be further linked to an advertising agency in Pakistan called Synergy Advertising (Private) Ltd., based on a Google Maps search of its address indicated in its Facebook page description.
As of writing, the post has garnered 36,092 reactions, 11,013 comments, and 105,017 shares, according to social media monitoring tool Crowdtangle. It has been reshared by Philippine-based Facebook pages such as Boses ng Pilipino, Digital Shopping Philippines, Mabahongsapatosテナヌヤマ, Pasig City News and Viral Videos. (NH)
References
Brandsynario. (n.d.) About Us [Website]. Retrieved from
https://www.brandsynario.com/about-us/
Brandsynario. (2020, July 7). On Tuesday, #China confirmed a case of a disease that has persisted centuries after it caused the most deadly pandemic in human history -- the bubonic plague. The case was first discovered in the city of Bayannur, located northwest of Beijing, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. Source: CNN. [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from
https://www.facebook.com/Brandsynario/photos/a.10155737648631447/10157577589096447/?type=3&theater
Brandsynario. (2009, July 28). Home [Facebook page]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/Brandsynario/
Boses ng Pilipino. (2020, July 7). On Tuesday, #China confirmed a case of a disease that has persisted centuries after it caused the most deadly pandemic in human history -- the bubonic plague. The case was first discovered in the city of Bayannur, located northwest of Beijing, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. Source: CNN. [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from
https://www.facebook.com/1983467725263646/posts/2733970573546687
China steps up precautions after bubonic plague case. (2020, July 6). Rappler. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/world/regions/asia-pacific/265846-china-steps-up-precautions-after-bubonic-plague-case
Chinese authorities confirm case of bubonic plague in Inner Mongolia. (2020, July 7). CNN. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/06/asia/china-mongolia-bubonic-plague-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html
Demonyo ANG MGA Markoses. (2020, July 10). On Tuesday, #China confirmed a case of a disease that has persisted centuries after it caused the most deadly pandemic in human history -- the bubonic plague. The case was first discovered in the city of Bayannur, located northwest of Beijing, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. Source: CNN. [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from
https://www.facebook.com/314233675389312/posts/2200137343465593
Digital Shopping Philippines. (2020, July 7). On Tuesday, #China confirmed a case of a disease that has persisted centuries after it caused the most deadly pandemic in human history -- the bubonic plague. The case was first discovered in the city of Bayannur, located northwest of Beijing, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. Source: CNN. [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from
https://www.facebook.com/820919114675487/posts/2668419766592070
Mabahongsapatosテナヌヤマ. (2020, July 7). On Tuesday, #China confirmed a case of a disease that has persisted centuries after it caused the most deadly pandemic in human history -- the bubonic plague. The case was first discovered in the city of Bayannur, located northwest of Beijing, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. Source: CNN. [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from
https://www.facebook.com/1619479921461265/posts/3058390804236829
North China region reports 1 suspected bubonic plague case. (2020, July 5). XinhuaNet. Retrieved from
Ore. man survives “black death” plague. (n.d.). CBS News. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/ore-man-survives-black-death-plague-graphic-images/
Pasig City News. (2020, July 8). On Tuesday, #China confirmed a case of a disease that has persisted centuries after it caused the most deadly pandemic in human history -- the bubonic plague. The case was first discovered in the city of Bayannur, located northwest of Beijing, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. Source: CNN. [Facebook status]. Retrieved from
https://www.facebook.com/2240761252677785/posts/3119366294817272
Synergy Advertising Pvt. Ltd. (2016, December 1). Home [Facebook page]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/synergyadvertising/
Two cases of Bubonic plague confirmed in Mongolia. (2020, July 1). XinhuaNet. Retrieved from http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-07/01/c_139180365.htm
Viral Videos. (2020, July 8). On Tuesday, #China confirmed a case of a disease that has persisted centuries after it caused the most deadly pandemic in human history -- the bubonic plague. The case was first discovered in the city of Bayannur, located northwest of Beijing, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. Source: CNN. [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from
https://www.facebook.com/151911651617428/posts/1786466828161894
World Health Organization. (2017, October 31). Plague. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/plague
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