Bubonic Plague In China: Parts Of Yumen Sealed Off Over Death, Sparks Quarantine

A city in northern China has been sealed off and about 151 people have been placed in quarantine after a man died of bubonic plague last week, state media reported Tuesday.

A 38-year-old man was reportedly infected by a dead marmot, a type of rodent, in Yumen, located in the northwestern province of Gansu. And, more than 100 people were under observation as authorities said they came in contact with the man who died of the plague on July 16, after he was hospitalized earlier this month, media reports said, citing Xinhua.

"The city has enough rice, flour and oil to supply all its residents for up to one month," China Central Television said, according to Agence France-Presse. "Local residents and those in quarantine are all in stable condition."

Although there have been no signs so far of the infection spreading, the 30,000 residents of Yumen have reportedly been barred from leaving the city while local police are also blocking people from entering the city. The city had set aside $161,200 for emergency vaccinations, Reuters reported, citing Jiuquan Daily, a local newspaper, on Tuesday.

The plague is a bacterial infection, which spreads largely through fleas living on wild rodents. The disease came to be known as the Black Death for killing millions of people in Europe in the 14th century and tens of thousands of people in China in the 19th century.

China's law on Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases categorizes the plague as a Class A infectious disease, which is “the most serious” classification, media reports said, citing Xinhua. However, the Beijing Center for Disease Control said that there was little chance of the disease spreading to the capital, according to Reuters.