Two Die of Bubonic Plague in Mongolia, Triggering Quarantine for Tourists

The Guardian explains that the quarantine was to be lifted yesterday (Monday) if no other case of the disease was reported.

People are warned against eating raw marmot meat, which can carry Yersinia pestis, the plague germ. The germ exists in rodents and their fleas and, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, can be found in animals such as rock squirrels, wood rats, ground squirrels, prairie dogs, chipmunks, mice, voles, and rabbits. Carnivores can become infected by eating infected animals.

The CDC reports that one to 10 cases of bubonic plague are reported every year in Mongolia and that in “recent decades, an average of seven human plague cases have been reported each year (range: 1–17 cases per year)” in the US.

H/T: The Guardian