A 15-year-old Mongolian boy died after eating a large rodent infected with bubonic plague.
The teenager ate a groundhog, a large rodent that lives in burrows in the North Asian grassland, the country’s health ministry announced earlier this week.
CHINA REPORTS SUSPECTED CASE OF BUBONIC PEST IN INTERIOR MONGOLIA
At least two other teens also ate the groundhog, but are being treated with antibiotics, ministry spokesman Narangerel Dorj said, according to the Associated Press. Its conditions were not clarified.
The government imposed a quarantine in a part of the Gobi-Altai province, where the cases occurred. The health ministry said 15 people who had contact with the child who died were quarantined and are receiving antibiotics.
The plague is found in groundhogs there, as well as some other wildlife in parts of Mongolia, northwest China, and eastern Russia, according to the Associated Press.
The news comes after a squirrel in Colorado recently tested positive for bubonic plague. The squirrel is the first case of plague in the city of Morrison, Jefferson County, which is about 27 miles southwest of Denver.
“Plague is an infectious disease caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria and can be contracted by humans and pets,” wrote public health officials. However, if proper precautions are taken, the risk of contracting the plague is “extremely low,” they added.
Humans can become infected by flea bites or infected animals.
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Plague symptoms can include high fever, chills, headache, and nausea, among other signs, that occur within a week of exposure. However, plague can be treated with antibiotics after early diagnosis.
Kayla Rivas of Fox News and Associated Press contributed to this report.
