Bubonic plague: Cause of death of Mongolian teenager

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• A teenager in western Mongolia has died from the bubonic plague after hunting and eating an infected marmot, health officials reported.
• Earlier this month, the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia reported a case of a patient who was infected with bubonic plague.
• In the US, a squirrel was reported to be tested positive for the bubonic plague in Colorado on Monday.

Mongolia’s national news agency reported the death of a 15-year-old boy due to bubonic plague.

After undergoing some lab tests, the Health Ministry confirmed the teen died of the plague that he contracted after hunting and eating an infected marmot, the Montsame News Agency said.

The government imposed a quarantine on a portion of the province of Gobi-Altai where the boy lived. They isolated at least 15 people who had contact with the deceased.

Meanwhile in China, a patient who was reported earlier this month to have been infected with the plague in the northern region of Inner Mongolia is improving, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said.

According to Xinhua, 15 people who had close contact with the Chinese patient were released from quarantine on Sunday. The news agency added that the Chinese government stopped its top-level emergency response.

A public warning was issued in the Bayannur region of Inner Mongolia, urging citizens to avoid eating marmot and to report dead animals. The order would last until the end of the year.

Last week, a squirrel has tested positive for the bubonic plague in Colorado, the first case of plague in the Town of Morrison, Jefferson County.

Humans can contract the plague if bitten by infected fleas or animals.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms of plague can include sudden fever, chills, headache and nausea within a week of exposure. The infection can be fatal but it can also be treated with antibiotics if diagnosed early.

Source: AOL