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Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai said he had told the Disease Control Department to keep a close watch on the measures China is taking against the plague, and stop any animals from crossing the border.

"No special measures are being launched to fight the pneumonic plague," he said, adding that the World Health Organisation (WHO) was "monitoring the situation and we will follow its measures".

The disease first hit the Ziketan area in China's northwest, killing at least three people. The government has already sealed off the town of more than 10,000 residents to prevent the spread of the disease.

The pneumonic plague is brought on by the Yersinia pestis bacteria, which enters the body via the skin and travels to lymph nodes.

It is usually transmitted from animals to humans through the bite of infected fleas, direct contact, inhalation and very rarely, by eating or drinking bacteria carrying products.

Witthaya said the bacteria reacts almost immediately to the human body, unlike the typeA (H1N1) virus, which takes a longer time and can be transmitted to others. "Untreated patients can die within 24 hours after contracting the plague," he said.