The death of a 28-year-old woman who worked in a plague laboratory in Russia has raised concerns about the causes of her illness.
The woman died Friday, according to the World Health Organization, without the cause of death being confirmed. A Russian official said the woman died of pneumonia of “undetermined” origin. and did not connect his death with his work at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East. The US State Department, however, said it was monitoring reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in the Irkutsk region of southeastern Siberia in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Key details remain unknown, including whether the woman was infected with plague and, if so, whether it was a naturally occurring plague or a bacteria studied in a laboratory. Scientists also don’t know how quickly her illness progressed or what treatment she received. Nearly 200 people who were in contact with the woman are under precautionary medical observation, according to Russian media.
“Maybe we’ll find out that she died of something unrelated and it was just a coincidence” that she worked in a plague lab, said Lisa Morici, a microbiologist and immunologist at the Tulane University School of Medicine.
Dr. Ashish Jha, former White House Covid response coordinator, told NBC News in an interview: “If there were weapons programs, biological weapons programs in these labs, that would concern me a lot more.” »
“We need to understand this now,” he added.
The situation is still evolving rapidly. But here’s what we know about pneumonic plague, how it spreads, and how dangerous it is.
What is the plague?
Plague is an infection caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. Known as the “Black Death” in the 14th century, the plague sparked several global pandemics in the centuries before the discovery of antibiotics.
It presents in three main forms: bubonic, pneumonic and septicemic, according to the World Health Organization. All three are caused by Yersinia pestis, but they occur in different parts of the body.
Bubonic is the most common form, Morici said. It is spread primarily through the bites of infected fleas or direct contact with infected rodents, which can cause painful, swollen bumps in the lymph nodes. It is generally not contagious.
However, if left untreated, it can spread to the lungs and become pneumonic plague, which can spread from person to person through respiratory droplets, Morici said.
Septicemic plague occurs when the bacteria grows and spreads in the blood.
How is pneumonic plague spread?
Pneumonic plague can be spread through the air when an infected person or animal coughs or sneezes.
Respiratory droplets don’t travel very far, maybe three to six feet, said Dr. Dave Wagner, director of the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute at Northern Arizona University. “They fall to the ground pretty quickly.”
It is the rarest form of the disease, according to the WHO.
Dr. William Schaffer, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said close contacts are most at risk. Pneumonic plague is not spread “at a distance in a room, but through face-to-face contact,” he said.
“It is very unlikely that most people will get the pneumonic form of the disease,” Morici said.
Covid, for example, spreads like wildfire through the air, spreading beyond six feet.
“This has nothing to do with the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.
How deadly is it?
While Pneumonic plague is the rarest form of the disease, but also the deadliest.
“He’s the one that’s so scary because he can kill so quickly,” Morici said.
It’s progressing remarkably quickly, Wagner said. Symptoms typically appear one to two days after exposure and patients require treatment within 48 hours of symptom onset to avoid life-threatening complications. Symptoms may include shortness of breath and coughing or blood in the phlegm.
Because of how quickly it attacks the respiratory system, public health experts consider this strain the most likely candidate for a biological attack, according to Morici.
People with pneumonic plague are often quarantined, she explained. Healthcare workers often wear personal protective equipment, such as an N95 mask, or even a full body suit in case of accidental exposure.
“We use the strictest levels of biocontainment,” she said.
How is it treated?
Antibiotics are very effective against plague, including pneumonic plague.
“That’s why we don’t have big plague outbreaks anymore,” Wagner said.
Schaffner said there is no evidence to suggest that the plague bacteria are evolving in a way that makes it resistant to antibiotics. “We will not make 2026 the Middle Ages, where the Black Death caused many deaths across Europe. That will not happen.”
Wagner said he had no reason to believe this suspected case of plague was “going to take off and spread.”
“The scourge we are experiencing today is the same one that has been the scourge of humanity for so long during the great pandemics,” he said.
Is the plague present in the United States?
About seven cases of plague are reported each year in the United States, according to the CDC. Most occur in rural areas of the Southwest, including Arizona, California, Colorado, and New Mexico. These are areas where the Yersinia pestis bacteria naturally circulates among wild rodents like prairie dogs and their fleas.
Most people are treated quickly with antibiotics and recover. Deaths from plague in the United States are rare, but they do occur.
Last July, a man in Arizona died of pneumonic plague after being exposed to sick cats. Within a week, the man went to the emergency room with shallow breathing, rapid heartbeat, chest pain and a dry cough. Despite antibiotics and oxygen, the man died eight hours after being admitted to hospital. Tests later revealed that he was suffering from pneumonic plague.
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