Nearly 200 people isolated after lab worker in Russia dies of plague

A lab worker in Russia died from pneumonic plague last week, leading to the isolation of nearly 200 people who may have come into contact with her. The incident occurred in the Irkutsk region of Siberia, and several hospitals in the area have been placed under quarantine. Plague cases are common worldwide, but they do not typically spread widely due to effective treatments and preventative measures.

Zania Stamataki, a researcher at the University of Birmingham, emphasized that "plague is not a historical disease" as human cases occur annually, including outbreaks of the pneumonic form. Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for plague, circulates in non-human animals and infects over 1000 people yearly. Pneumonic plague, the most severe form, can spread through the air when infected individuals cough and is nearly always fatal if not treated promptly.

However, proper precautions such as wearing masks and avoiding close contact can prevent its spread. The cause of the lab accident remains unclear, but it is suspected to have been caused by a broken test tube. If proper procedures for handling dangerous microbes had been followed, this should not have resulted in an infection. Workers should have been wearing protective equipment, such as masks and lab coats.

While there have been instances of lab accidents leading to infections and outbreaks, such as the 2007 outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the UK and the 1979 anthrax deaths in Sverdlovsk, Russia, this specific case does not appear to be the result of a bioweapons modification or a particularly dangerous strain of the plague.