A second man has died of pneumonic¹ plague in a remote part of north-western China where thousands of people have been quarantined.

中国西北部偏远地区肺鼠疫已经造成第二人死亡，数千人被隔离。

The victim was identified by Chinese state media as a neighbour of the first victim, a herdsman（牧民） aged² 32 in Ziketan, near Xinghai in Qinghai Province.

The sparsely³ populated（人口稀少的） area is mostly inhabited by Tibetans.

Pneumonic plague（肺鼠疫），which attacks the lungs, can spread from person to person, or from animals to people.

Initial symptoms include fever, headache and shortness of breath.

Local officials in north-western China have told the BBC that the situation is under control, and that schools and offices are open as usual.

But the authorities have sealed off Ziketan, which has some 10,000 residents.

No-one is being allowed leave the area, according to one official, and authorities are trying to track down people who had contact with the men who died.

The local health bureau has also warned anyone with a cough or fever who has visited the town since mid-July to seek medical treatment.

Outbreak anticipated

Health officials in Qinghai have been concerned about pneumonic plague for some time.

In Febuary, they said they had sent out 55 teams across the province to help monitor and control the disease.

One Chinese media report said this was the third outbreak of the disease in Qinghai within the last 10 years.

According to the World Health Organization, pneumonic plague is the most virulent⁴（有毒的，有恶意的） and least common form of plague.

Untreated, it has a very high case-fatality ratio（比，比率）, the WHO says.

The WHO was informed on Saturday of the outbreak but has not been asked for help.

Vivian Tan, a WHO spokeswoman in China, said authorities had reacted quickly.

"When it comes to outbreaks of the plague it's always quite worrying, but it looks like the authorities have got the situation under control," she said.

"This area is quite remote and the population is very small so this should make it easier to contain."