Via Web24 News, an Infobae report: Mongolia ordered quarantine and closure of part of the border with Russia after reported deaths from bubonic plague. A lightly edited excerpt and then a comment:
Mongolia ordered entry into quarantine from the city of Tsetseg, in the western province of Khov, after two deaths were detected by bubonic plague, as reported by local health authorities. A partial closure of the border with Russia was also ordered, to avoid an outbreak that could spread beyond the country’s limits.
The victims, whose identity was not disclosed so far, had consumed marmot meat. The disease is also known in the region as “marmot plague”
“Specialists from the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) in Khovd and Bayan-Ulgii are working to establish a quarantine in Jargalant and Tsetseg soums," the local government said.
“In the two confirmed cases, 146 first contact and 504 second contact individuals were identified, and 146 first contact samples were collected and analyzed," health workers said in the statement.
The affected place is about 500 kilometers south of Siberia. The Russian state news service, Tass, confirmed the immigration closure to prevent the passage of private vehicles and the transport of merchandise.
It is not the first time that Mongolia has resorted to a similar measure on that edge.. A key border crossing with Russia with closed in May 2019 on suspicion that it may have played a role in an outbreak of the plague, leaving several Russian tourists stranded. A couple had died after eating marmot meat in that incident.
The May 2019 incident was reported here. In November 2019, three more cases were reported, one resulting from eating a plague-infected rabbit.