The United States has said it is “closely monitoring” the situation in Russia following the death of a laboratory worker who may have been exposed to pneumonic plague, Sky News reports.
The 28-year-old female researcher, who worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, died last week from “pneumonia of unknown etiology,” according to Russia’s consumer welfare service.
The agency said the “sanitary-epidemiological situation” in the Irkutsk region and the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov remained stable.
Russian authorities said they had found no evidence that the researcher’s illness was caused by any of the pathogens she worked with.
Reports citing a regional leader said nearly 200 people who had been in contact with the researcher were being monitored.
Maksim Modin, mayor of the Shelekhov municipal district near the border with Mongolia, said the inpatient facility where the researcher was treated had been closed for quarantine.
The Russian authorities have not confirmed the exact cause of the researcher’s death.
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Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that pneumonic plague is particularly contagious and can trigger severe outbreaks through person-to-person transmission via respiratory particles.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked about the case, urged the public and media to rely on official statements rather than “rumours or speculation.”
What are the symptoms?
According to the WHO, pneumonic plague is the most virulent form of plague and has an incubation period that can be as short as 24 hours.
Symptoms can develop rapidly and include severe respiratory problems such as shortness of breath and coughing, with the cough sometimes producing blood-tainted mucus.
How is it treated?
The WHO said pneumonic plague can be fatal within 18 to 24 hours after the onset of symptoms if left untreated.
However, appropriate antibiotics can effectively treat the disease when administered early.
How is it transmitted?
According to the WHO, a person with pneumonic plague can transmit the disease to others through respiratory particles.
The organisation warned that untreated pneumonic plague can be fatal if it is not diagnosed and treated early.
However, recovery rates are high when the disease is detected and treatment begins promptly, particularly within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms.
(Sky News)