Two people in China have been diagnosed with pneumonic plague - otherwise known as the Black Death.
The two patients, from Inner Mongolia, were diagnosed with pneumonic plague by doctors in Beijing.
Authorities say they are working to make sure the proper control measures have been taken to prevent the deadly disease from spreading, and the pair is receiving treatment, according to state media Xinhua.
On Tuesday, Chinese censors instructed online news companies to "block and control" online discussion related to an outbreak of plague.
How the infected couple got to Beijing hospital has not been made clear, and people on social media fear the pair used public transport - potentially infecting hundreds of others.
In October, Madagascar was hit with a rapidly spreading outbreak of the plague. This led Chinese authorities to say they would strengthen quarantine measures to the stop plague entering the country, reports New York Times.
Six people in China have died from the plague since 2014, according to the country's health commission.
The most recent case was recorded earlier this year.
People who contract pneumonic plague will often first contract the closely related bubonic plague. Pneumonic plague is easily transmitted between humans via airborne droplets and kills faster than the more common bubonic plague.
If untreated, it is always fatal, according to the World Health Organisation.
