China has announced an emergency after a three-year-old boy contracted the bubonic plague in the south-west of the country. The young boy was infected with the disease in a rural village in Menghai county, Yunnan. The case of the deadly disease was reported in the China last week before being confirmed on Sunday. The child is in a stable condition after contracting the bubonic plague in the Chinese province. Following the confirmed case, Chinese officials in the region declared a level IV emergency response to avoid another pandemic spreading after the devastating coronavirus outbreak. Three dead plague-ridden rats were previously found in the village in Yunnan triggering a national screening programme. A rat infestation has been announced in the village of Xiding in Menghai, according to the state-run Global Times. The bubonic plague is a bacterial disease spread by fleas who live in rodents. The deadly disease can kill adults in less than 24 hours if they are not treated in time.