Teenager dies of plague. A teenager has died of the bubonic plague – with health officials suspecting he was infected after being bitten by a flea.
The 15-year-old has become the first person to die of the disease in the country of Kyrgyzstan in 30 years.
The 15-year-old has become the first person to die of the disease in the country of Kyrgyzstan in 30 years.
Temir Issakunov died last week but his cause of death has only now been revealed. More than 2000 people are being tested for bubonic plague in the Issik-Kul region, reports the BBC.
“We suspect that the patient was infected with the plague through the bite of a flea," said health ministry official Tolo Isakov.
However, authorities have tried to calm fears of an epidemic, although quarantines are in place.
The bubonic plague, also known as ‘black death’ was an epidemic that killed millions of people in Europe during the Middle Ages.
However, cases of bubonic plague are now extremely rare and the World Health Organisation says the last outbreak was in Peru in 2010, when 17 people were affected.
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