Bubonic-Plague Death Triggers Quarantine of Chinese City

Parts of a city in northwestern China are under quarantine after a local man died of bubonic plague, according to a state media report Tuesday.

A quarantine has been put in place for Yumen, a city of about 100,000 in Gansu province. No one but the original victim has shown signs of infection, Reuters reports.

The victim, 38, died July 16, apparently after coming into contact with a dead marmot, a rodent. Plague is a bacterial disease typically carried by fleas hosted by rodents. The disease is extremely deadly if not treated immediately.

Plague is very rare but still exists, primarily in rural areas. The Yumen quarantine comes after three new cases of bubonic plague were confirmed in the U.S. state of Colorado on Friday.