A Chinese village in Inner Mongolia has been sealed off after a resident died from the disease commonly known as the Black Death.
The death was first reported on Sunday in Suji Xincun village, and the person who died was confirmed to have had the bubonic plague on Thursday, according to CNN. It is unclear how the person contracted the plague. The Baotou Municipal Health Commission said in a statement that the victim died from circulatory system failure.
Suji Xincun village itself has shut down, and Chinese authorities have ordered the daily disinfection of homes in the area. Nine of the victim’s close contacts and more than two dozen secondary contacts are in quarantine, although no other villager has tested positive for the illness.
The bubonic plague, a disease caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, killed millions across the globe centuries ago. While not common these days, every year, a few people contract the illness. The World Health Organization says that most plague cases since the 1990s have occurred in Africa. Congo, Madagascar, and Peru have experienced the most cases over the past few years.
Chinese officials in July announced a case of the bubonic plague in the nearby city of Bayannur. Also in July, health officials in Jefferson County, Colorado, announced that a squirrel had tested positive for the same disease.
