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- Three cases of the bubonic plague are believed to have been recorded in Mongolia, and Inner Mongolia in China
- The disease, previously known as the Black Death, was responsible for wiping out more than 70 million people in the Middle Ages
- The plague is now considered much more treatable and cases are rarely seen across the globe
- However, Mongolia, Russia and China have all implemented rodent hunting bans, to stop the spread of the plague
- The current outbreak is linked to the hunting and eating of Marmots, a type of rodent
Mongolia is grappling to contain the deadly and highly infectious bubonic plague, with two cases recorded in the region last week.
A suspected third case of the plague — also known as the Black Death — has also been recorded in Inner Mongolia, in China, at the weekend.
It’s reported a 27-year-old man and a 15-year-old contracted the plague in Mongolia after eating a type of rodent called Marmot.
Officials have now tested hundreds of people who came in contact with the two infected patients, as they work to stop the spread of the deadly disease.
Hunting ban
Bordering nations, China and Russia, have acted swiftly following the plague diagnoses, implementing bans on the hunting of Marmots and other rodents.
The ban also forbid residents from eating any type of rodent and encourages them to report any known symptoms of the plague to health officials.
The bubonic plague is spread by infected fleas, which are often present on rodents.
Black death symptoms
Symptoms of the highly infectious disease include; fever, headache, chills, weakness and one or more swollen lymph nodes, according to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC).
The plague is responsible for wiping out large chunks of the human population in three historic pandemics, with the estimated death toll sitting between 75 million and 200 million.
Prior to the existence of antibiotics, the CDC estimates 66 per cent of those who contracted the plague would die from the disease.
Now, only around 11 per cent of people who contract the plague die from it.
The condition of the patients who recently contracted the disease is not known.
