Possible pneumonic plague outbreak in Russia remains unconfirmed, expert cautions

An epidemiologist interviewed by Radio NV said a lab worker's death at Russia's Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, reportedly from bilateral pneumonia of unknown cause after a test tube broke on September 28 or 29, fits the known incubation window for pneumonic plague. He cautioned the case remains unconfirmed, though he noted that around 200 contacts were isolated for observation, which would be hard to fully conceal if plague were confirmed. Pneumonic plague spreads person to person but requires closer contact than airborne illnesses like measles or COVID.

Russia has told the World Health Organization there are no plague cases in Irkutsk even as the worker's death remains unexplained. The expert called for stronger biosafety standards at research labs generally, drawing a comparison to the Wuhan lab scrutiny following COVID-19.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.