Worries grow about suspected plague outbreak in Russia

Russian authorities and Trump administration officials are monitoring a possible pneumonic plague outbreak in Russia, after a laboratory worker died of an undisclosed illness.

The woman, in her late 20s, reportedly worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East and died of pneumonia of unknown origin, according to Rospotrebnadzor, a Russian health and consumer protection agency.

The research institute is located in Irkutsk Oblast. Russian authorities have quarantined dozens of people, while the head of Russia’s health watchdog flew to the area, Reuters reported Monday.

Individuals with pneumonic plague develop fever, headache, weakness and a “rapidly developing” pneumonia characterized by shortness of breath, chest pain, cough and sometimes bloody or watery mucus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Pneumonic plague develops when bacteria spread to the lungs of a patient with untreated bubonic or septicemic plague, or when a person inhales infectious droplets coughed out by another person or animal with pneumonic plague,” the CDC added, noting pneumonic plague is the “most serious form” of the disease and the only one that can spread from person to person.

Rospotrebnadzor downplayed the link between the researcher’s death and her work at the institute, saying no “micro-organisms associated with the employee’s professional duties were detected in samples taken from the patient,” CNN reported.

A State Department official told NewsNation the department is “aware of reports of a fatal case” of suspected pneumonic plague in Russia.

“We are monitoring the situation closely with the CDC and our other interagency partners,” the official added, noting it has not confirmed many details regarding the situation.

“We encourage Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly,” the official said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also told reporters Monday he is “watching and monitoring” the possible outbreak in Russia “closely,” noting the situation has not “caused an alarm.”