Has the bubonic plague returned to the UK? Health officials respond to fears
A UK health agency has admitted to an error after incorrectly stating that a person had recently contracted bubonic plague.
Best known for causing the Black Death scare, the horror bug that previously wiped out half of Europe.
On 26 March, The Sun pointed out that HSA officials subsequently stated the report was wrong.
The Black Death is set to reprise their role as the Bubonic Plague after 672 years away, in a harrowing new storyline set to play out this summer Of their return, the deadly virus said "I've been away for a while, but I'm back now, with some surprises for you. Watch this space" https://t.co/voWntQ3bDi pic.twitter.com/ok5qVE8Dj4
— teened peaches🍑 (@BRATTYBARBl) March 26, 2025
The reported case originated from a UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) lab report for the week ending March 13, which monitors disease cases across England and Wales.
Authorities supposedly attributed the error to a mix-up in the lab.
Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in medicine at the University of East Anglia, told The Sun: "We do see occasional cases. Most are due to people coming into close contact with wild rodents while overseas.
"Usually, it's because people don't realise that even cute-looking wild animals should be kept at arm's length. The disease is spread by fleas."
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Bubonic plague is a bacterial infection caused by Yersinia pestis.
According to the CDC and WHO, the ways plague moves from animals to humans involve being bitten by fleas that carry the infection, having direct contact with infected animal matter, and breathing in tiny infected particles released into the air.
Symptoms include fever, chills, headaches, muscle aches, and swollen lymph nodes - often referred to as 'buboes.'
The last significant outbreak of bubonic plague in the UK occurred in Suffolk in 1918, though occasional cases have been suspected since.
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