Concerns over a possible plague outbreak in Russia have emerged following the death of a female researcher who was reportedly working at a laboratory studying the disease in Siberia.
According to The Moscow Times, the researcher, who worked at an anti-plague laboratory in the Irkutsk region, died six days after accidentally breaking a test tube during research.
The report said the woman was allegedly exposed to plague bacteria from the broken tube and was subsequently hospitalized after developing severe symptoms. She died on the sixth day of her illness.
Following her death, around 200 people who had been in contact with the researcher were reportedly placed under quarantine. Approximately 100 of them were hospitalized for close medical observation.
Russian authorities have said that the quarantined individuals in Siberia are in stable condition and are undergoing daily blood tests. Officials reportedly detected coronavirus infections in two people and rhinovirus, commonly associated with colds, in two others. However, no one under observation has so far been found to have plague.
Authorities have not publicly specified which strain of plague was responsible for the researcher’s death.
However, media reports have claimed that the woman died from pneumonic plague, which is considered one of the most severe forms of the disease because it directly affects the respiratory system and can become life-threatening rapidly if untreated.
Unlike bubonic plague, which primarily affects the lymph nodes, pneumonic plague attacks the lungs and respiratory system. It can also be transmitted through respiratory droplets in certain circumstances.
Plague is a serious infectious disease caused by Yersinia pestis. Although modern antibiotics can effectively treat the disease when diagnosed and treated promptly, plague caused devastating outbreaks in the past, including the 14th-century pandemic known as the Black Death, which killed millions of people.
At present, the available information does not confirm that a wider plague outbreak is occurring in Russia, with authorities saying none of the quarantined contacts has tested positive for plague.