Authorities in Kyrgyzstan are trying to calm fears of an epidemic after a 15-year old herder boy died of Bubonic Plague.

Temirbek Isakunov is dead, and three young woman and two children from a different village who came into contact with him were hospitalized.  They showed the same symptoms including the high fever and swelling around the neck and armpits characteristic of bubonic plague.  131 people, including 33 medical personnel, have been quarantined and are being treated with antibiotics, according to the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda in Kyrgyzstan.

It’s unclear if Isakunov caught the disease from a fleabite, or from eating a Kebob made with an undercooked, infected Marmot.

Isakunov is the first plague death in Kyrgyzstan in 30 years, which might account for doctors initially diagnosing him with the common cold.  They stepped up treatment when it became apparent he was not responding.

Since all this is happening close to the border, Kazakhstan is tightening its border crossings with Kyrgyzstan with quarantine points to stop the disease from spreading.