A Russian couple died in Mongolia from suspected bubonic plague, sparking a panic aboard a plane and forcing authorities to place the border under “indefinite quarantine,” leaving tourists stranded
A 38-year-old man and his 37-year-old wife from Russia have died after contracting the bubonic plague after consuming contaminated marmot in Mongolia.
The plane was forced to be quarantined. Since this has happened, the passengers have been put in indefinite quarantine to avoid the spread of this plague. The man passed away April 27th while his wife passed just 3 days later.
The director of the National Centre for Zoonotic Dermatology and Medicine announced that the victim had hunted marmot and both died after consuming it.
Ulgii- Passengers of the flight were relocated to a local hospital and others who have come near or contacted the couple are under careful watch. Dramatic images appear as emergency workers perform checks on the rest of the passengers.
Emergency workers intercepted the domestic flight at the airport in the capital Ulaanbaatar the paramedics in hazmat suits were forced to board a plane in Mongolia amid fears of a bubonic plague outbreak.
Eleven passengers from the west of the country were held at the airport and sent immediately for hospital checks while others were examined at the airport.
Paramedics in anti-contamination suits boarded the flight from provincial outposts Bayan, Ulgii and Khovd as soon as it landed.
Some 158 people have been put under intensive medical supervision in Bayan-Ulgii province after coming into contact directly or indirectly with the couple who died.
Some frontier checkpoints with Russia are reported to have been closed leading to foreign tourists being stranded in Mongolia.
The bubonic plague can kill an adult in less than 24 hours if not treated in time, according to the World Health Organisation.
It is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which is usually found in small mammals and their fleas.
The bacterium was linked to the Black Death which wiped out more than a third of Europe’s population in the 14th century and to subsequent plague outbreaks.
The disease is now treatable with antibiotics but hundreds of people have died of it around the world in recent years.
Since the 1990s, most human cases have occurred in Africa, according to world health bosses.
