Russia Plague Case: What Is Pneumonic Plague and How Does It Spread?

A 28-year-old worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia died on Oct. 2 due to severe pneumonia, Russian media have reported.

Authorities are examining whether her illness is connected to the work she did at the institute, although they have not officially confirmed that the plague caused her death. The reports still refer to the illness as pneumonia of unknown origin.

It is reported that about 200 people who possibly had been exposed have now come under medical observation. However, no broader outbreak has been confirmed.

Why is the situation with Russia receiving so much attention?

The fact is that her place of work is to blame. Although Russian media have claimed that a laboratory incident involving a test tube with the plague bacterium may have occurred, that explanation has not been independently verified as the cause of her illness; other reports suggest the possibility of a work-related exposure outside the laboratory.

In response, the authorities have begun to keep an eye on all the people who came into contact with her and have also implemented precautionary actions at medical facilities.

The case will continue to be regarded as a suspected one rather than a confirmed one until testing and the official investigation have established what caused her death.

What Is Pneumonic Plague?

Pneumonic plague is the form of the disease that affects the lungs; it is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, the same bacterium that is responsible for all the various types of plague.

Bubonic plague generally impacts the lymph nodes following a bite from an infected flea, whereas the pneumonic form ends up in the lungs.

Fever, headache, weakness, cough, difficulty in breathing, and chest pain are all listed as symptoms by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The disease can progress rapidly and has an incubation period that is generally about one to three days long.

It can be acquired by inhaling infectious droplets from a person or an animal that is infected, or when another type of plague spreads to the lungs.

Can the plague that affects the lungs be transmitted from person to person?

Plague is most commonly associated with infected fleas and rodents, and bites or direct contact with infected animals generally cause bubonic or septicemic plague. It does not usually spread the disease from person to person.

Pneumonic plague is unlike the other forms since a person with plague pneumonia can expel droplets containing the bacteria when they cough, and another person can then inhale them, especially in the case of close contact.

According to the CDC, person-to-person transmission usually involves direct and close contact. Unlike some other airborne infections, the plague bacteria in respiratory droplets do not remain in the air for long periods. This is the reason why a single case which is suspected does not immediately indicate that there is a widespread airborne outbreak.

Antibiotics are effective in treating plague provided that treatment is started promptly.

The CDC states that appropriate treatment should be started as soon as plague is suspected, rather than waiting for laboratory results. In addition, patients who are suspected of having pneumonic plague should be isolated in order to reduce the risk of respiratory transmission.

What is going to happen next in the investigation?

The Russia case is still being investigated, and the main questions remain unanswered. It will have to be established through testing whether or not the plague was involved, and the authorities have not yet stated how the woman could have become infected.

Furthermore, the status of the people who are under observation will affect the seriousness with which the case is treated.

At the moment, the case serves as a reminder of the need for a quick response in the case of pneumonic plague since it is rare, can be serious, and is capable of being transmitted from person to person, but it can be treated if detected early.