risk areas
Across 17 aimags in Mongolia, researchers identified 137 natural plague foci, including key epicenters along the Mongolia-Russia and Mongolia-China borders. This finding was announced by a representative from the Mongolia National Research Center for Zoonotic Infections at the 25th international conference on Zoonotic infection problems. The update was reported by TASS.
Latest assessments indicate that 137 natural plague foci are present in 17 aimags nationwide. Data from the research center highlight that the western border regions, adjacent to Russia and China, form the highest risk zone where plague cases are recorded annually.
In the Khovd region, which borders China, thirty-two people have contracted plague over the past three decades, with thirteen fatalities. The incidence in this area has risen over the last decade. Notably, plague deaths occurred in 2020 and 2022. The conference also included discussion of a rare Chinese case in which an individual contracted plague from sheep, with participation from the World Health Organization Mongolian Resident Representative Socorro Escalante.
security in Russia
The outbreak area extended to the northwestern Uvs aimag, near the Tuva Republic of Russia. The surrounding Mongolian region was last surveyed for plague in 2022, and epidemiologists observed an uptick in the activity of the disease’s natural focus compared with prior years.
In April 2023, Lyudmila Narusova, a senator from Tuva in the Federation Council, spoke of the arrival of plague-infected marmots from Mongolia. She did not classify this as a natural event or a potential weapon. Irina Akimova, deputy director of the Tuva Anti-Plague Station, described preparedness to manage ground squirrels and Siberian marmots as they emerge from hibernation. She noted that bubonic plague cases occur regularly in Mongolia, but no such cases had been reported in Tuva.
Rospotrebnadzor assured the public that there is no immediate cause for alarm due to a neighboring state’s plague situation. Health authorities conduct regular vaccination campaigns for residents near at-risk areas and run drills to improve vigilance among healthcare workers for detecting human plague infections. The agency also indicated that the last known human infection in Russia occurred in 2017; no further details about that case were provided in open sources.
infected fleas
During the conference, Mongolia’s Health Minister Sodnomyn Chinzorig attributed the elevated risk of zoonotic infections to the country’s large animal population, especially within a modern cattle-breeding environment. He pointed out that domestic animals outnumber humans by a wide margin, and Mongolia also hosts a rich diversity of wild creatures. He emphasized that this combination increases the likelihood of zoonotic outbreaks.
Plague is an acute infectious disease caused by Yersinia pestis. The main clinical forms are bubonic and pneumonic. Fleas living on the fur of rodents act as primary carriers, transmitting the infection to humans through bites or by consuming the meat of infected animals. The hallmark symptom is swollen lymph nodes, often presenting as a painful, bean-sized lump under the skin.
Mongolia’s geography—dominant steppe landscapes—favors the spread of plague in nature. The marmot and tarbagan are key wildlife hosts in these steppes, extending into adjacent areas of northeast China and into parts of Transbaikalia and Tuva. While marmots are commonly hunted, they remain central to the disease ecology. Other mammals, including wolves, foxes, cats, and badgers, can be affected, but rodents and lagomorphs remain the primary reservoirs. Plague foci are found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica, underscoring the global relevance of monitoring and preparedness.