(CNN) A 15-year-old boy has died from bubonic plague in western Mongolia, according to government health officials.
The teenager caught the plague after hunting and eating marmot, according to Dorj Narangerel, spokesperson for Mongolia’s Ministry of Health. He died on Sunday.
Marmots are large ground squirrels, a type of rodent, that have historically been linked to plague outbreaks in the region.
Squirrel tests positive for bubonic plague in Colorado.