Plague in Kyrgyzstan
High-mountain grey-marmot foci in the Tien Shan. A teenager died of bubonic plague in 2013 after eating marmot meat in the Issyk-Kul region, the first human case in about 30 years. Ancient DNA traces the source of the Black Death to the same region around 1338.
Updated:
Situation now
No human cases reported in 2026. Four Y. pestis strains were isolated from animals in 2025. On 4 October 2026 Kyrgyzstan put all sanitary-quarantine checkpoints into enhanced mode after the Irkutsk reports.
Authority: WHO Europe
Natural foci
Tien Shan high-mountain focus
ModerateHosts: Grey marmots
Sary-Jaz valley, Issyk-Kul region. A teenager died of bubonic plague in 2013. 4 Y. pestis strains isolated from animals in 2025. Ancient DNA places the origin of the Black Death near Lake Issyk-Kul.
Recent events
Health Ministry switches border sanitary-quarantine checkpoints to enhanced mode.
Latest signals
Headlines attributed to Kyrgyzstan in the last 45 days. Not verified by us.