The death of a Mongolian boy from being infected with bubonic plague - historically called "black death" - after he ate the meat of the marmot (from the squirrel family); Fears of the spread of the disease in the region.
The French newspaper L'eparisien said that Mongolia's health officials recently announced a series of cases of bubonic plague, and that injuries had also been reported in China.
The boy, 15, was declared ill on July 6 in the remote Gobe Altai district (southwest), after eating marmot meat, and this led to the isolation of 5 provinces for 6 days for fear of spreading the infection.
15 people in quarantine
"The first 15 people who had been in contact with the deceased have been isolated and underwent antibiotic treatment," the newspaper quoted the head of the public relations department of the Mongolian Ministry of Health Narangel Dorge as saying.
The Mongolian official stated that two other cases of bubonic plague were recorded at the beginning of this month for two people who had eaten marmot meat in Hovd district, adjacent to Gobe Altai, in the far west of Mongolia.
The newspaper confirmed that more than 140 people were examined in this region, where the infections appeared, but the tests were negative.
According to official statistics, at least one person dies of bubonic plague each year in Mongolia, while the authorities organize continuous awareness campaigns to warn people about the danger of eating marmot meat.
In Bayanur, in the far north of China, authorities announced about 10 days ago that a shepherd had a bubonic plague.
China is in control
For its part, the World Health Organization announced that it is closely following the cases of bubonic plague in China, stressing that the situation is under control at the present time.
In Russia, health authorities announced last week that they had launched a campaign to uncover the spread of the virus that causes bubonic plague among rodents in the Buryatia border region with Mongolia.
Bubonic plague is historically called the "black death", and caused a global epidemic that struck Europe and Asia in the 14th century, killing its time between 75 and 200 million.
Bubonic plague became popular in the Middle Ages, a highly contagious disease, often fatal, and is spread by rodents most of the time.
Plague is an infectious disease that affects rodents, some other animals, and humans, and is caused by Yersinia pestis, which is found in many regions of the world.
People usually get plague when they are bitten by a flea infected with plague bacteria, and people can also become infected through direct contact with infected tissues or fluids while dealing with a sick animal or animal that died from the plague.
People can also become infected from inhaling respiratory drops after close contact with cats and people with pneumonic plague.
Types of plague:
Bubonic plague
It causes inflammation of the tonsils, spleen and thymus, and symptoms include fever, chills, and allergic reactions in the lymph nodes.
Historically, bubonic plague was called "black death", referring to blackness in tissues caused by gangrene (tissue death) in parts of the body, such as the fingers, that can occur with disease.
Septicemic plague
In it, bacteria reproduce in the blood. Symptoms include fever, chills, and shock, which are caused by bleeding, bleeding under the skin, or parts of the body.
Pneumonic plague
It is the most dangerous type of plague, and it causes pneumonia, and those infected transmit infection to others.
Bubonic plague usually occurs as a result of an infected flea bite, and bacteria multiply in the lymph node closest to where the bacteria enter the human body. And if the patient is not treated with the appropriate antibiotics, the bacteria can spread to other parts of the body.
Fleas become infected with plague when they suck blood from rodents, such as squirrels, mice, and other mammals infected with Yersinia pestis. The fleas then transfer the plague bacteria to humans and other mammals later.
Plague bacteria live for a short period (a few days) in rodent blood and for a longer period in fleas.
A person usually develops bubonic plague between 2 and 6 days after infection, and when a person is exposed to Yersinia pestis bacteria in the air, he will get sick within 1 to 3 days.
And if the bubonic plague is left untreated, plague bacteria can invade the bloodstream, and when plague bacteria multiply in the bloodstream they spread rapidly throughout the body, causing a severe and often fatal condition called septic plague.
Untreated bubonic plague can also develop into infection in the lungs, causing pneumonic plague. If plague patients are not given treatment, which is antibiotics, all forms of plague can quickly progress to death.