In the northwest area of China, thousands of people have now been quarantined after a man died from the pneumonic plague and 11 others became infected. The man that died, 32-year-old Ziketan, lived in the Qinghai province. Health authorities did not specify just when the man died, but did confirm his death and the cause.

The other 11 victims of the pneumonic plague were relatives of the deceased and are in stable conditions at local hospitals. The remaining 10,000 inhabitants of Ziketan, which covers an area of 1,000 square miles on the Tibetan plateau, have now been placed under quarantine. A team of medical experts have been dispatched to the area to monitor the disease.

The World Health Organization warns against any people attempting to travel to this area. The penumonic plague is spread very easily through the air and can be passed from one person to another just by coughing around them. The pneumonic plague is triggered by the same bacteria as the bubonic plague that killed around 25 million people in Europe during the Middle Ages.

Although the bubonic plague can be treated with antibiotics, the pneumonic plague remains very lethal and infectious. The World Health Organization says that most people die within 24 hours of becoming infected.

The Chinese health ministry announced just last September that a newlywed couple in western Tibet died from the pneumonic plague as well. At this time no other information has been given out about the Qingahi province or how long it will be on lock-down due to the death of a man that had the penumonic plague.