Authorities in China have stepped up precautions after a city in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region confirmed one case of bubonic plague.

Officials said they were also investigating a second suspected case, according to China's Global Times.

The bubonic plague was once the world's most feared disease, but can now be easily treated.

The first case was reported as suspected bubonic plague on Saturday at a hospital in Urad Middle Banner, in Bayannur city.

The second suspected case involves a 15-year-old, who had apparently been in contact with a marmot hunted by a dog, a tweet from Global Times said.

A level 3 alert, which forbids the hunting and eating of animals that could carry plague and calls on the public to report suspected cases, has been put in place until the end of the year.

In May last year, two people in the country of Mongolia died from the plague, which they contracted after eating the raw meat of a marmot - the same type of rodent the second suspected case came into contact with