This archive report was first published on 14 July 2020.
Published on July 14, 2020, a 15-year-old boy in Mongolia's remote southwest province of Gobi-Altai has died from the bubonic plague after eating a marmot he hunted.
The health ministry reported that the boy's death was caused by the rare bacterial illness, which is usually contracted through the bites of infected fleas or direct contact with infected animals.
Narangerel Dorj, head of public relations at the health ministry, stated, "We quarantined the first 15 people who came into contact with the deceased and those 15 people are receiving antibiotic treatment."
As a precautionary measure, five districts in the province were placed under six-day quarantine.
Earlier this month, two other cases of bubonic plague were registered in Khovd province, but no other cases were found after testing over 140 people.
Similar cases have been reported in the past, including an ethnic Kazakh couple who died of the plague last year after eating raw marmot kidney.
Despite government campaigns to discourage people from eating marmot or approaching the animal, many in rural areas continue to hunt and eat the large ground squirrel, believing it to be good for their health.
