Manchurian plague

The Manchurian plague was a pneumonic plague that occurred mainly in Manchuria in 1910–1911. It killed 60,000 people, stimulating a multinational medical response and the wearing of the first personal protective equipment (PPE).

The plague is thought to have originated from a tarbagan marmot which was infected with bacterial pneumonia. The disease was spread when marmot fur hunters gathered together during the winter months, and then infected migrant workers during the Chinese New Year. The Cambridge-trained doctor Wu Lien-teh led Chinese efforts to end the plague, and promoted quarantine and the wearing of cloth face masks as safety measures. The hardest hit cities included Changchun, Harbin, and Mukden. Although the disease was largely confined to Manchuria, a number of plague cases were reported in cities such as Beijing and Tianjin.

The Manchurian plague highlighted the importance of a multinational medical response, setting precedents for organizations such as the World Health Organization. Wu Lien-teh's widespread promotion of cloth plague mask-wearing by doctors, nurses, patients, contacts, and (to the degree that it was possible) the population at large was the first time such an epidemic containment measure had been attempted. The event was also influential in establishing the use of personal protective equipment to stop the spread of disease, and is credited for the origins of the modern hazmat suit.