A city in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has reported seven hemorrhagic fever cases, Xinhua quoted a local health official as saying. Zhang Yanjie, director of the Yichun municipal health bureau, confirmed the outbreak in a bid to dispel rumors on the Internet that say the city had pneumonic plague cases. The seven people living in different parts of the forests in Jinshantun District contracted the disease between July 28 and August 3, he said. The patients are in stable condition. Investigation shows that the patients drank water or ate food contaminated by mice. Local health authorities are ordered to ensure earlier recovery of the patients from the illness and to step up efforts to prevent outbreaks of contagious diseases.
