Will the Russian plague spread around the world? WHO’s latest assessment comes out but leaves “key proviso”

Employees of the Anti-Plague Research Institute in Irkutsk, Russia, were working in a laboratory. An employee of the institute died recently, raising concerns about pneumonic plague. (AP file photo)

An employee of an anti-plague research institute in Irkutsk, Siberia, Russia died. The outside world was once worried about whether pneumonic plague was involved. About 200 contacts were also quarantined or under medical monitoring. The latest assessment by the World Health Organization (WHO) believes that the current global public health risk faced by the general public is low, but whether the deceased was infected with plague and the exact cause of death are still not fully clarified.

According to Reuters, Russian authorities have informed the WHO that there are currently no confirmed cases of plague in Irkutsk, and all contacts of the deceased have been tested, and no dangerous infectious pathogens have been found. However, it is still unclear whether Russia has completed a plague test on the 28-year-old researcher himself and whether pneumonic plague has been officially ruled out.

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About 200 people are quarantined and no cases of plague have been found so far.

The incident occurred on October 2. The deceased worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute. The authorities subsequently traced the people who had been in contact with her, and about 200 people were placed under quarantine or medical monitoring. The Russian Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Public Welfare Supervision stated that contact testing found the new coronavirus and rhinovirus, but no plague or other serious infectious diseases were found.

Pneumonic plague is one of the three main clinical forms of plague. After infection with Yersinia pestis, it invades the lungs. It is also the most contagious form of plague and can be spread through respiratory droplets from infected people. The WHO points out that pneumonic plague can be quickly fatal if not diagnosed and treated in time, but it can still be treated with early use of appropriate antibiotics. World Health Organization

"Reuters" reported that this is why the outside world is paying special attention to this incident. The research institution where the deceased worked is itself involved in high-risk pathogens such as plague, and there are also natural foci of plague in parts of Siberia. However, there is currently no evidence that this death has caused sustained human-to-human transmission, and Russian authorities also stated that no cases of plague were found among the contacts.

WHO still assesses the global risk to the general population as low and continues to exchange information with Russian health authorities. As the deceased's examination and other laboratory results are released one after another, the relevant risk assessment may still be adjusted.

The death of a local researcher at the entrance to the Anti-Plague Research Institute in Irkutsk, Russia, raised concerns about pneumonic plague. (AFP)