A second man died of pneumonic plague and 10 people are infected in a Chinese city north-west

A second man died of pneumonic plague and 10 people are infected in a Chinese city north-west, as the authorities sealed off to prevent the spread of infectious lung disease to.

Officials have expressed Ziketan and the surrounding part of Qinghai Province in quarantine. The local health authority asked anyone with a cough or fever, which visited the city looking for 10,000 since mid-July to the treatment.

The lung disease is caused by the bacterium as the bubonic plague. The World Health Organization (WHO) said it is the lowest common virulent and fever can be killed within 24 hours after infection. It spreads through the air and can be transmitted from person to person through coughing.

The Organization offices in China said that it was appropriate were in close contact with the health and measures to contain and treat the disease. China has experienced such outbreaks.


"This is not new, Beijing-based WHO spokeswoman Vivian Tan told Reuters." There are sporadic cases have been reported [China] over the years. We are not surprised that it is. We are in constant contact with the authorities to ensure that things are under control. "

She said that the epidemic had occurred in a remote area of the country "should help to mitigate" the impact.

China has declared the epidemic to the organization on Saturday.

The agency Xinhua said the second victim, identified only 37-year-old Danzin a neighbor the first victim, a 32-year-old shepherd, who was not named.

The others are the victims, which most parents, the first man to die in isolation, now being treated in hospital.

In 2004, eight villagers died in Qinghai province of the plague. Most were after killing or eating infected wild marmots, small mammals, live in the meadows of the north-west China and Mongolia.

A seller of food in Ziketan, who gave his name as Han said, Associated Press, authorities have said the houses and shops are to be disinfected, and residents should wear masks when they left. He said that 80% of shops were closed in the city and the prices of disinfectants and certain vegetables has tripled.

"People are so afraid. There are few people on the streets," Han said by telephone. "There are policemen who guarded quarantine center at the hospital in Canton, but not on the street."

Ziketan the situation was stable, said an official of the local Center combat the disease, adding that the measures taken were "scientific, methodical, efficient and in compliance with the Act.

Another resident said officials had distributed leaflets and made announcements for television and radio to prevent such infection. She said that the police checkpoints were set up within 17-mile long Ziketan and residents were not allowed to leave.