LANZHOU - A 45-year-old man in Northwest China's Gansu province has died of plague, local authorities said Saturday.

The case was reported in Subei county under the jurisdiction of Jiuquan city. Ma, a herder, died on Wednesday in hospital.

The provincial health and family planning commission confirmed the case after lab reports.

Ma grazed his sheep in a pasture where widespread plague has been reported among marmot in recent years. A total of 41 people who had close contact with Ma have been put in quarantine under medical observation. None has shown any symptoms so far. Ma's home village has been isolated and thoroughly disinfected.

It is the second plague death in Jiuquan this year. The other fatality was also marmot-related.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission has sent specialists to the county to prevent the plague from spreading.

Plague is categorized as a Class A infectious disease, the most serious under China's Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases.

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