Geneva (AFP)

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday it is closely monitoring the cases of bubonic plague in China, stressing that the situation does not pose a high threat and is "well managed".

"At the moment we do not consider this to be a high risk, but we are closely monitoring" the situation, in partnership with the Chinese and Mongolian authorities, said a spokeswoman for the WHO, Margaret Harris, at a press conference in Geneva.

Several cases of bubonic plague have been reported in recent days in China.

Authorities in the city of Bayannur, located in Inner Mongolia in northern China, have announced an arsenal of measures after the discovery this weekend of a case of bubonic plague.

The man, a shepherd, is in stable condition in a hospital in Bayannur, the city health committee said in a statement on Sunday.

The commission banned the hunting and consumption of animals that could transmit the plague - especially groundhogs - until the end of the year, and urged residents to report any dead or sick rodents.

Another suspicious case involving a 15-year-old boy was reported on Monday in neighboring Mongolia, according to the China News Agency.

And two other cases were confirmed last week in the Mongolian province of Khovd involving brothers who ate groundhog meat, the agency said.

Nearly 150 people who came into contact with the two men were quarantined.

In a note sent to the media on Tuesday, WHO said it was informed by China "on July 6 of a case of bubonic plague in Inner Mongolia".

The WHO emphasizes that the plague is "rare" and that it is generally found in certain geographical areas of the globe where it is still endemic.

"The bubonic plague has been and is with us for centuries," said Margaret Harris.

In China, sporadic cases of plague have been reported in the past decade, according to WHO.

Bubonic plague is the most common form of the disease and is spread from animals to humans through the bites of infected fleas or through direct contact with the carcasses of small infected animals. It is not easily transmitted between people.

© 2020 AFP