How Russia and the world are responding to possible case of pneumonic plague after lab worker dies

Geneva: The head of the World Health Organisation said Wednesday that Russian authorities have reported no case of plague in a Siberian region where a woman employee of a laboratory that studies the disease died of pneumonia last week.

The comments from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus come a day after WHO said a possible case of pneumonic plague in Russia presents a "very low" risk outside the country as investigators looked into what caused her death Friday.

Also Read: Russia pneumonic plague revives fears of COVID-19: What are chances of virulent disease becoming another worldwide pandemic? Read Experts' opinions


The UN health agency says it has been in contact with Russian authorities following the death of the staffer at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. They cited a "typical" acute respiratory viral infection.

The case and the investigation have revived memories of the COVID-19 pandemic and allegations the coronavirus may have emerged at a Chinese lab. WHO has not provided a definitive answer to how the pandemic began.

Also Read: Russian plague lab researcher dies of pneumonia of ‘unknown’ origin, nearly 200 under observation

Here's what to know about the case and how experts are mobilising after her death:

Pneumonic plague is a form of the disease that affects the lungs

The incubation period for pneumonic plague -- the most virulent form of the disease -- can be as short as 24 hours, according to WHO. The lung-based illness a less common but severe form of plague that can spread between people via respiratory particles.

If untreated, the illness can be fatal, but recovery rates are high if detected and treated in time, WHO says. Symptoms include shortness of breath and coughing, often involving the coughing up of blood.

The more common form of plague -- bubonic plague -- is caused by the bite of an infected flea, and can develop into open sores filled with pus.

Pneumonia is a form of acute respiratory infection that is mostly caused by viruses or bacteria, and is spread generally through contact with infected people or from airborne droplets.

What Russian officials are saying about the case

Through an international health alert system, Russian health officials on Tuesday said a full range of preventive measures had been carried out -- including tracing of the deceased woman's contacts, medical monitoring and lab tests.

"Test results showed no presence of dangerous infectious disease pathogens in any of the contacts," said the note from Russian authorities, which was relayed to The Associated Press by WHO.

"Based on available data, laboratory test results, and health status, medical monitoring for 100 per cent of the contacts has now been concluded," it said. "The epidemiological situation is stable and remains under monitoring."

The woman died at a hospital in Shelekhov, a town just outside the city of Irkutsk, and its mayor said the hospital was placed under quarantine. The top officials from Russia's national public health watchdog travelled to the region Friday.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov advised the public to follow official statements from the watchdog agency, Rospotrebnadzor, rather than "rumours or speculation."

WHO has mobilised its own experts to look into the case

The Geneva-based health agency says the institute where the woman worked studies "dangerous pathogens" and that plague occurs naturally in wild animals in the Irkutsk region of Siberia.

"Initial media reports suggested pneumonic plague following an alleged accidental laboratory exposure," Tedros noted in the WHO statement Wednesday.

As part of international health regulations, WHO asked Russia to help clarify the situation and, in response, "the Russian health authorities reported that no case of plague had recently been registered in Irkutsk oblast," he said.

WHO noted media reports about a second employee of the institute "with pneumonia of undetermined cause."

On Tuesday, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said Russian authorities had attributed the woman's illness to "a typical acute respiratory viral infection."

"The initial risk assessment from the information available estimates that the risk to be moderate-to-low for Irkutsk; a low risk for the Russian Federation as a whole; and very low for the WHO European region," he told a regular UN briefing in Geneva.

Trump and Rubio monitoring the case

US President Donald Trump said Monday that he was watching the situation with concern and that the United States would be willing to help, though he said he had not spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the case.

Asked about Trump's remarks, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said Tuesday "it is always very good when mutual assistance is offered." He wouldn't elaborate further, deferring to Rospotrebnadzor.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Russian authorities to share more information.

"Maybe there's nothing there. Maybe it's bigger than we thought. We don't know," he said at a news conference in Iceland.

"We encourage Russia to be more transparent and share more information with the world," Rubio said, adding this has so far been "quite limited, but hopefully that will change in the next few hours and days."

Dr. Glenn Wortmann, at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center, said the bacteria that cause plague don't "travel very far" and a person would "really need to be face-to-face" with an infected person to get pneumonic plague.

"The chance of this spreading widely in Russia and then extending here to the US will not happen, not with this type of bacteria, because it's not spread easily and we have antibiotics to stop it from spreading," he added.