Suspected pneumonic plague: how great is the risk of the disease spreading after an employee’s death in Russia?

An employee of the anti-plague institute in Irkutsk, Russia, has died after a test tube broke in the laboratory, regional media report. The case has raised concerns about a possible infection, although the Russian authorities say they have found no evidence that her illness was caused by any of the pathogens she worked with.

Unconfirmed media reports have raised the suspicion that the employee may have died of pneumonic plague, a severe form of the disease which, unlike other forms of plague, can be transmitted from person to person through the respiratory route.

According to Russian media, around 200 people who had been in contact with the employee have been placed under strict medical observation. Several hospitals in the region are also reported to have been temporarily closed and placed in quarantine.

Experts say the risk of the disease spreading remains low if the laboratory has been properly disinfected and the exposed persons were isolated in time. Alice Hughes, professor of conservation science at the University of Melbourne, said that, in these circumstances, it is very unlikely that the infection will spread further.

International authorities are also monitoring the situation. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said it is in contact with the World Health Organization and is closely following developments.

The ECDC stressed that the suspicion of plague has not yet been confirmed and that, based on the current information, no secondary cases or sustained human-to-human transmission have been reported.

Plague has not been reported in Europe for more than 50 years, while human cases continue to appear in some parts of the world, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar. The health authorities are continuing their monitoring to determine the exact cause of death and to assess any possible risk of the infection spreading.