A 15-year-old boy died of bubonic plague in western Mongolia, health officials said.
The teenager caught the often fatal plague after hunting and eating a groundhog in Gobi-Altai province, according to the Mongolian Ministry of Health.
Two other teens were being treated with antibiotics after also consuming the large ground squirrel, which is believed to be a source of the highly infectious disease, authorities said.
Plague symptoms can include sudden fever, chills, headache, and nausea, although the disease can be treated with antibiotics if caught early enough, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The government imposed a quarantine in the Tugrug district of the province where the cases were detected.
Fifteen other people who had contact with the boy were quarantined and received antibiotics, authorities said.
The Mongolian government has warned the public not to hunt or eat groundhogs, which are considered a delicacy in some regions.
The cases come after a Chinese hospital in the northern region of Inner Mongolia reported that a patient was suspected of having the plague.
The United States also detected a squirrel that tested positive for bubonic plague in Colorado.
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