WHO calls risk of possible pneumonic plague outside Russia very low — PBS NewsHour

The World Health Organization said that a possible case of pneumonic plague in Russia, an aggressor state, poses a very low risk outside the country. The matter concerns the death of an employee of the Irkutsk Plague Control Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, the cause of which Russian officials are determining.

As PBS NewsHour reports in an AP article, the WHO is in contact with Russian authorities. Christian Lindmeier, a representative of the organization, said there were no signs of a pandemic-like situation. According to him, the institution where the woman worked studies dangerous pathogens, including plague, which occurs naturally among wild animals in part of Siberia.

Measures after the employee's death

Russian authorities reported through the international alert system that they had traced the deceased woman's contacts, conducted medical monitoring and laboratory tests. No dangerous infectious agents were found in any contact person, and medical monitoring of all contacts was completed.

The woman died in a hospital in the city of Shelekhov near Irkutsk. The city's mayor had said that the hospital was placed under quarantine. Later, Russian health authorities informed the WHO that no cases of plague had been registered in Irkutsk. According to their data, the woman's illness initially showed symptoms typical of an acute respiratory viral infection.

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What is known about pneumonic plague

Pneumonic plague is a severe form of the disease that affects the lungs and can be transmitted between people through respiratory particles. Its incubation period can be short — from 24 hours. Without treatment, the disease can be fatal, but the WHO points to high chances of recovery with timely detection and treatment.

The WHO has engaged its own experts to study the situation. At the same time, according to Lindmeier, the Russian side has not requested that the organization's specialists be sent to the country.

Ian Jones, a professor of virology at the University of Reading, noted that plague is still present in various parts of the world, including Russia, but modern living conditions and antibiotics limit its potential. Dr. Glenn Wortmann of MedStar Washington Hospital Center added that contracting pneumonic plague usually requires close contact with an infected person.