Officers from Selenge provincial department of Mongolia’s National Emergency Management Agency have been vaccinated against bubonic plague. In addition, officers from three NEMA divisions have been trained for prevention and fighting the ‘Black Death’ which killed over 50 million people in the 14th century. The disease, is normally spread by rodents; for some Mongolians, marmot meat is a delicacy.

Recently, suspected cases of bubonic plague have been reported in western and southern Mongolia as well as China’s Inner Mongolia.