Outbreak linked to dead dog

The origin of the pneumonic plague might be the dog raised by the first victim, disease control specialists discovered yesterday.

The victim, a 32-year-old herdsman, owned a dog that died after contracting the plague from an ill wild marmot.

While the herdsman was burying the body of the dog, he was beaten by the fleas residing on the dead animal, causing him to contract the deadly plague, Wang Hu, a local disease control official, told Xinhua News Agency.