The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a statement after a woman died in Russia following a suspected exposure to plague. The agency said the public health risk to the wider UK population currently remains very low.
Russian authorities have quarantined a hospital and are monitoring contacts of an employee from a plague research institute in Siberia who contracted pneumonia from an “unknown” cause. Authorities said they have found no evidence her illness was caused by any of the pathogens she worked with, but media reports suggest she may have died of pneumonic plague.
UKHSA statement
Chris Lewis, director of global health protection at the UKHSA, said: “We are aware of media reports that emergency containment measures have been introduced in Russia’s Irkutsk region following the death of an employee at the Irkutsk anti-plague institute.
“We are seeking information through the International Health Regulations channels to further understand the circumstances and verify the accuracy of these reports. The public health risk from plague to the wider UK population currently remains very low.”
What is plague?
Plague is a disease usually found in small mammals and their fleas. It is no longer found in the UK, but occurs in several countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas.
The disease is usually transmitted to humans from infected animals or fleas, but people can pass it on from coughing and sneezing. Usually, this requires direct and close contact with the person with pneumonic plague. If plague is untreated, it can cause rapid death, but antibiotics can be effective if the disease is caught in time.
The case in Russia
The woman who died worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East in Irkutsk, south-eastern Siberia. A hospital has been quarantined and media reports have suggested she could have died from pneumonic plague.
President Donald Trump has said the US is looking “very strongly” at the case.
