Mice control team works in Ganzi, Southwest China's Sichuan Province to examine the population of the rodent and test whether they carries plague bacteria in September 2019. Photo: VCG

One person in Baotou, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has died from the bubonic plague, said the city's health authority, citing the cause of death being a failure of the circulation system. 

The victim tested positive in a PCR nucleic test for the bubonic plague, and the nasal swab result taken from the victim is in accordance with the gene sequence from the deadly disease, media reported.

Authorities in Suji Xincun village, where the death occurred, has isolated a total of 35 close contacts for medical observation. They have shown no onset of symptoms so far, such as fever, and their nucleic acid test results returned negative for the bubonic plague.

The authority has also quarantined the village, and roll out epidemiological investigation and health observation for the quarantined villagers. 

After the death, Damao Banner, which administers the village, announced it will enter a level Ⅲ early warning phase for plague prevention from Thursday, and the warning will persist until end of this year.

The city of Baotou said there is a risk of the bubonic plague spreading, and asked all departments and institutes to be cautious regarding prevention work. 

In early July, the city of Bayan Nur in Inner Mongolia urged local residents to strictly follow prevention and control measures regarding the handling of wild animals after a single case of the bubonic plague was reported at a local hospital.

The plague is a highly infectious disease that is highly transmissible with a high fatality rate. It's a Class A infectious disease, the highest classification under China's Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases.

Plague-infected rodents are a key source of disease which is mainly transmitted to humans through bites from infected fleas. 

In November 2019, two people traveling from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to Beijing were diagnosed with the pneumonic plague. 

Global Times