Reports of a case of pneumonic plague at a research institute in Siberia have triggered international concern, with US president Donald Trump saying he plans to speak with Russian president Vladimir Putin about the case even as the World Health Organisation says the risk beyond Russia remains “very low”. The case emerged after a woman working at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East died last week. Russian authorities said she had pneumonia of unknown cause, while reports in Russian media and on social media suggested she may have contracted pneumonic plague. There is, however, no confirmation that the woman died of plague. The WHO said Tuesday that it was in contact with Russian authorities following reports of her death. Russian officials told the agency that no case of plague had been recorded in Irkutsk and that tests had found no dangerous infectious pathogens among people who had been in contact with the woman.
Why did the case raise alarms
Pneumonic plague is the least common but most virulent form of plague and affects the lungs. Unlike bubonic plague, which is generally transmitted through infected fleas, pneumonic plague can spread between people through respiratory particles. The disease can become fatal if untreated, but WHO says recovery rates are high when it is detected and treated promptly. Symptoms can include shortness of breath and coughing, sometimes with blood. The possibility of a respiratory disease emerging from a laboratory has also revived memories of the Covid-19 pandemic and the debate over its origins. WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier stressed that there was currently no indication that the Siberian case was comparable to the pandemic. “There is currently no indication that we are dealing with anything similar to the pandemic,” Lindmeier told news agency AP. The institute where the woman worked studies dangerous pathogens, including plague, in a region where the disease occurs naturally among wild animals.
What Russia is saying
Russian health authorities said they had carried out preventive measures including contact tracing, medical monitoring and laboratory testing. According to a health alert relayed to AP by WHO, tests found no dangerous infectious disease pathogens among the woman's contacts. Authorities said medical monitoring of all contacts had also been completed and that the epidemiological situation remained stable. Russian officials have pushed back against speculation surrounding the death. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged the public to rely on statements from Rospotrebnadzor, Russia's public health watchdog, rather than “rumors or speculation”. Russian media reports have offered different accounts of how the woman may have become ill, including an alleged laboratory accident involving a test tube containing live bacteria. Another report suggested a possible link to travel. There is no public evidence supporting those theories, and Russia's health watchdog rejected the laboratory-accident account.
Trump, Rubio seek more information
Trump said he was due to speak with Putin about the case “very soon” and said the US was engaged in “very deep discussions” on the issue. He had earlier offered to help Russia, describing plague as a disease that had once been controllable but saying microbes had become “stronger and smarter”. Secretary of state Marco Rubio also urged Moscow to provide more information. “Maybe there’s nothing there. Maybe it’s bigger than we thought. We don’t know,” Rubio said, calling on Russia to be more transparent and share information with the international community. The Kremlin said it welcomed offers of assistance but referred questions about the case to Rospotrebnadzor.
How dangerous is pneumonic plague?
Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and still occurs naturally in parts of the world, including Siberia. Pneumonic plague is particularly concerning because it can be transmitted through respiratory particles. But experts quoted by AP said the bacteria do not spread easily over long distances, and modern antibiotics can prevent the disease from becoming a wider threat when cases are detected quickly. WHO has said the risk outside Russia is currently “very low”. The Irkutsk institute, established in 1934, was created to control plague outbreaks in Siberia and the Far East and has since worked on other dangerous diseases including cholera and anthrax.
