Plague in Siberia, is there a risk of bacteriological warfare? What the expert says

The plague "was one of the major infectious factors in the evolution of the human species. There were several: we had the Justinian plague, the Antonine plague and many others that tortured humanity. The most important plague was the one that later took the name of 'black plague', associated with the black death, which began approximately in 1345-1346 and ended in 1350 and led to the death of at least a third of the entire European population", he recalled Ferrante. The bacterium that causes the plague, Yersinia pestis, is "the usual bacterium that lives with animals, especially mice, rats, and by living in their fur it multiplies and occasionally passes to humans. Once it reaches humans it causes disturbances", specifies the teacher. “These cases still exist, but the point is that currently there is no problem because we have a series of antibiotics that are capable of killing the bacterium,” Ferrante points out.

As the virologist reiterates, "one of the countries in which the plague is certainly still present is the USA", in particular "in the Southern States, with a prevalence in the area of ​​Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and also a little in California and Oregon". These cases, according to Ferrante, "occur mainly in areas that host Native American reservations", who certainly have a stronger contact with nature, "and among other problems they may also have a lack of healthcare". In this part of the United States "there has been a minimum of 7-8 cases every year with a maximum, in 2006 or 2015, of even 17 cases of plague. Fortunately, the lethal cases have been fewer". Of the plague "we see at least two forms: bubonic and pneumonic, which is the most serious. And, as we have seen, there are several states in the world in which it is possible to contract the infection". Those which, according to the virologist, "are most frequently affected by the disease are unfortunately Madagascar and Congo and other neighboring African countries. But even here without serious epidemics". Even in countries where there is an endemic, "we see a constant presence of the plague without an exacerbation that could lead to increases".

The message launched by the virologist is therefore "don't panic". The cases reported by the WHO "rarely exceed one thousand globally" and in Europe "at this moment no cases are reported to us". As for the case of the researcher who died in Irkutsk, "in the case of pneumonic plague perhaps someone else would have fallen ill and we would have already seen it". But also given the results of the quarantines, "I believe there is no need to launch a real emergency. If they really want to be careful, a little surveillance is enough."