China has ended a quarantine blockade around a remote northwestern town hit by pneumonic plague, Xinhua news agency reported late on Saturday.

The outbreak of the highly infectious disease killed three villagers around Ziketan Town in Qinghai province, Xinhua reported.

But with no new infections reported for over a week, authorities decided to lift the blockade on the remote town of 10,000 in a heavily ethnic Tibetan area, Xinhua reported.

China experiences sporadic outbreaks of the plague, which is typically spread by rodents and fleas and can pass easily between people. But the World Health Organisation has said it was not unduly concerned about this latest outbreak.

The blockade was imposed on July 30.

The disease can be a very severe in people, with a mortality rate of between 30 and 60 percent if left untreated.

(Agencies via China Daily August 10, 2009)