On Sunday (July 12), a 15-year-old boy died of an infection of bubonic plague in the western Mongolian province of Govi-Altai, according to the country’s National Centre for Zoonotic Diseases (NCZD). The teenager was found to have eaten marmot meat before his death.

Quarantine has been imposed on five soums (rural districts) in the Govi-Altai Province due to the boy’s death.

Two cases of bubonic plague have been confirmed recently in the neighbouring provinces of Khovd and South Gobi (Umnugobi). There have also been cases recently in Inner Mongolia, which is part of China.

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