The cause of death of a 28-year-old employee of an Irkutsk anti-plague institute has not been officially established. The WHO has not confirmed plague, while the U.S. says it is monitoring reports of a possible case.
The death of a 28-year-old employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East has raised questions about what caused her illness. The woman died on Friday, the World Health Organization said, without confirming a cause of death. A Russian official said she died of pneumonia of undetermined origin and did not link the death to her laboratory work.
The U.S. State Department said it was monitoring reports of a suspected fatal case of pneumonic plague in the Irkutsk region in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is not known whether the woman had plague. If she did, investigators have yet to determine whether it was naturally occurring or related to bacteria studied at the laboratory. Russian media reported that about 200 people who had contact with her were under precautionary medical observation.
Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and has three main forms: bubonic, pneumonic and septicemic. Bubonic plague is usually transmitted by bites from infected fleas or direct contact with infected rodents. Without treatment, it can spread to the lungs. Pneumonic plague can pass between people through respiratory droplets during close contact, such as when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Experts interviewed by NBC News said the droplets do not travel far and that transmission is not comparable to Covid-19.
Pneumonic plague is the rarest form but the deadliest. Symptoms can appear one to two days after exposure, and treatment must begin promptly to prevent fatal complications. Infectious-disease specialists said antibiotics are highly effective and there is no evidence that plague bacteria are becoming resistant. The United States reports about seven cases a year, mostly in rural parts of the Southwest. Experts quoted by NBC News said the available information is not enough to determine the diagnosis or assess the risk of further spread.