ULAN BATOR, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- A 38-year-old man infected with the bubonic plague died in Tosontsengel soum in Mongolia's western Zavkhan province on Monday, the third death from the disease in the country since the beginning of the year, according to the provincial department of zoonotic diseases.
The man was found to have eaten marmot meat in Khuvsgul province in northern Mongolia last month, and 25 people in close contact with him have tested negative for the plague, the department said in a statement.
A 42-year-old man died of the bubonic plague in western Khovd province last month, while a 15-year-old boy died of the plague in western Govi-Altai province in mid-July.
Seventeen of Mongolia's 21 provinces are now at risk of bubonic plague, according to the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases.
The bubonic plague is a bacterial disease that spreads by fleas living on wild rodents such as marmots and can kill an adult in less than 24 hours if not treated in time, according to the World Health Organization. Enditem
