Quarantine measures announced in two soums (districts) of Khovd Province, in western Mongolia were suspended on Sunday (5 July) from 1.00 p.m. The two soums were closed on 29 May after bubonic plague was reported.

According to, the National Centre for Zoonotic Diseases (NCZD), a 27-year-old resident of Tsetseg Soum in Khovd Province was taken to a hospital on Sunday after having eaten marmot meat. The young woman and another person are under treatment with glandular and lung infections and are recovering. Over 60 people who had direct contact with her have been tested negative for the plague.

In 2019, a couple died of bubonic plague in the neighbouring western Mongolian province of Bayan-Ulgii, after eating raw marmot meat.

Bubonic plague is a bacterial disease that is spread by fleas living on wild rodents such as marmots. The disease can kill an adult in less than 24 hours if not treated in time, according to the World Health Organisation.