'Plague' outbreak in Russia - expert comment

Following various reports in media and online about the death of a laboratory worker at anti-plague research institute in Irkutsk, Russia, Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Reading, comments on some of the claims.

 

“Reports from Russia have inevitably drawn comparisons with Covid-19, but it is important to remember that pneumonic plague is a very different disease. It is caused by bacteria, Yersinia pestis, famous for causing the Black Death, that remains with us today mostly in animals across parts of Asia, Africa and the Americas.

 

"Pneumonic plague is particularly serious because it means the infection has reached the lungs and is nearly always fatal if not treated promptly. Unlike the bubonic plague which enters the body via infected flea bites, pneumonic plague can spread between people through respiratory droplets during close contact. 

 

"Unlike many viral respiratory diseases, plague is caused by bacteria and is generally treatable with antibiotics if identified quickly.

 

"One claim attracting attention is that a laboratory worker may have been infected after breaking a test tube in the lab. It is not unheard of for pathogens to escape from labs, but an awful lot must have gone wrong for a lab worker to be infected by a broken test tube.

 

"Having worked in high-containment laboratories, I know that handling dangerous pathogens involves multiple layers of protection, strict procedures, safety cabinets, airflow systems and careful procedures carried out by well-trained staff. Lab-acquired infections are rare events, and a broken tube would not automatically lead to exposure or infection. We also don't tend to use test tubes very much.

 

"Until more details emerge, it is difficult to assess whether this represents an isolated case, an occupational exposure, or evidence of wider transmission.  

 

"Transparency, rapid diagnosis and effective contact tracing would be the most important factors in managing an outbreak."