Teenager in Mongolia dies of bubonic plague after eating marmot

A 15-year-old boy has died of bubonic plague in western Mongolia after eating marmot, as authorities impose quarantine measures.

A 15-year-old boy has died from bubonic plague in western Mongolia after hunting and eating marmot.

Tests confirmed the teenager had contracted bubonic plague and authorities imposed quarantine measures in the Tugrug district of Gobi-Altai province. Two other teenagers who also ate the marmot are being treated with antibiotics, a Mongolian health ministry spokesman said.

The quarantine measures will run until Saturday, with authorities already isolating 15 people who came into contact with the teenager.

Marmots are large ground squirrels that have historically been linked to plague outbreaks in the region.

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Last week, authorities in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia said they would step up precautions, 24 hours after a hospital in the area reported a case of bubonic plague.

The health committee in the city of Bayan Nur issued a Level 3 warning, the second-lowest in a four-level system.

The warning forbids the hunting and eating of animals that could carry the plague – which is caused by bacterial infection and can be deadly – asking the public to report any suspected cases of plague or fever with no clear causes, and to report any sick or dead marmots.

Marmots are large ground squirrels that have historically been linked to plague outbreaks in the region. Picture: Jean Christophe Verhaegen/AFP

Known as the “Black Death” in the Middle Ages, the disease is often spread by rodents and can be highly infectious, though can now be treated with commonly available antibiotics.

The disease is characterised by swollen lymph nodes, though can be hard to identify in its early stages because its symptoms are flu-like.

Infectious diseases doctor at Stanford Health Care, Dr Shanti Kappagoda, told Healthline it’s unlikely a single infection would lead to an epidemic.

“Unlike in the 14th century, we now have an understanding of how this disease is transmitted,” Dr Kappagoda said.

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“We know how to prevent it. We are also able to treat patients who are infected with effective antibiotics.”

While outbreaks of bubonic plague have become increasingly rare, cases of the disease in China are not uncommon.

Earlier this month, two people were infected in Khovd province, western Mongolia.

And in May last year, two people in Mongolia died from the plague after contracting it from eating the raw meat of a marmot.

A World Health Organisation (WHO) official told the BBC that raw marmot meat and kidney was thought to be a folk remedy for good health, despite the animals being a known carrier of the disease.

Mongolia has recorded 692 cases of marmot plague between 1928 and 2018, according to CNN. Of those, 513 died of the disease – a mortality rate of almost 75 per cent.