The Russian health services announced on Wednesday that they have launched a campaign to screen for bubonic plague among rodents in Buryatia, a border region of Mongolia where cases have been confirmed recently.
So far, "the results of serological, bacteriological and PCR tests (polymerase chain reaction tests) carried out in 2020 to detect a possible presence of the plague antigen, have been negative," said the Buryat department of the Russian health agency Rospotrebnadzor, on its official website. However, the health agency recommends that tourist agencies "inform" travelers about the risks associated with the plague.
Consumption of marmots not recommended
Due to the closure of borders due to the coronavirus epidemic, the risks of the spread of bubonic plague come mainly from possible Russian epizootic outbreaks in Altai, in the Baikal region or in the Siberian Republic of Tuva, according to the agency.
But the disease could also be imported by rodents from China or neighboring Mongolia. Russian authorities also called this week to stop hunting and consuming groundhogs after the discovery of cases of bubonic plague in these two neighboring countries.
Several cases detected
Two cases of bubonic plague were confirmed last week in the Mongolian province of Khovd, involving brothers who had eaten groundhog meat. A third suspected case in Mongolia involving a 15-year-old boy was reported on Monday.
In northern China, authorities in the city of Bayannur, located in Inner Mongolia, discovered a case of bubonic plague in a shepherd this weekend.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday it was closely monitoring the cases of bubonic plague in China, stressing that the situation did not pose a high threat and was "well managed".
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