Bubonic Plague Kills Boy in Kyrgyzstan, Three Suspected Cases Under observation

A 15-year-old boy has died of bubonic plague in Kyrgyzstan, according to media reports. Doctors have confirmed the case but added that an outbreak is unlikely.

The boy- Temirbek Isakunov- was from Ichke-Zhergez in eastern Kyrgyzstan and caught the infection after eating a barbecued marmot. The country has been on high-alert since the death of the boy on August 22.

Health officials in the region examined 758 people for signs of bubonic plague. Over 100 people, mostly relatives of the boy and medical staff, are now quarantined.

Government's Office of Kyrgyzstan informed 24.kg news agency that three other people from Ak-Suu district of Kyrgyzstan have started showing symptoms of the plague and are currently under-observation.

Kyrgyzstan's Health Minister Dinara Saginbayeva confirmed the boy's death but added that there are no reports of any outbreak.

"I can say in all certainty that there will be no plague epidemic. This is a localized outbreak," Saginbayeva told RIA Novosti.

Entry to Kashka-Suu area in Issyk-Kul province is restricted, Tolo Isakov, the Head of the Disease Prevention and the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision Department said at a local press conference.

People can get infected with plague by exposure to disease-carrying rodents such as rats. Bubonic plague or "Black Death" killed 25 million people in Europe during the Middle Ages. The disease still infects many people in Asia and Africa.

Symptoms of the disease include swollen and painful lymph gland called a bubo along with fever and headache. The disease can be treated with antibiotics.

The plague's presence in the U.S. is rare and is limited to certain regions such as parts of California, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico.