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Bubonic plague: Russia cracks down on hunting marmots
Marmot is a large ground squirrel, a type of rodent, which has historically been associated with outbreaks in the region.
Officials from the Republic’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food told residents in the border area not to hunt guinea pigs or eat guinea pigs, and take precautions against insect bites.
Rodents are the main vector of plague transmission from animals to humans, but this disease can also be transmitted by flea bites.
Outbreaks killed around 50 million people in Europe during the Black Death pandemic in the Middle Ages, but modern antibiotics can prevent complications and death if given quickly enough.
The bubonic plague, which is one of three outbreaks, causes swollen lymph nodes, as well as fever, cold, and cough.
Mongolia quarantined its territory near the Russian border last week after laboratory tests showed two cases of bubonic plague related to the consumption of guinea pigs, the country’s health official said on July 1.
The National Center for Mongolian Zoonotic Disease said last week it had identified and tested 146 people who had made contact with two infected people.
The center also identified 504 secondary contacts in the Khovd province.
The Russian Embassy in Mongolia said there was “no reason for serious concern” because Mongolian authorities have imposed travel restrictions and isolated infected individuals, according to Russian government news agency RIA Novosti.
The embassy also quoted Sergei Diorditsu, a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Mongolia, who reportedly said the province saw a seasonal outbreak, according to RIA Novosti.
“There is a natural focus of plague in Mongolia and the disease is spread by tarbagan [Mongolian marmots], “the embassy said.
“The problem is that the locals who, despite all the restrictions and recommendations from the local government, continue to hunt them down and eat them, because this is local delicacy.”
Authorities in China’s Inner Mongolia region have also confirmed the outbreak case.
The case in the city of Bayannur, northwest of Beijing, was confirmed on Tuesday, according to the Xinhua news agency.
In 2019, a husband and wife in Mongolia died after eating raw guinea pig kidneys, triggering quarantine which left some tourists stranded in the region.
Everywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 people get an outbreak each year, according to WHO, but the estimate does not explain an unreported case.
Jessie Yeung from CNN contributed to this report.
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