Suspected plague in Russia puts EU on alert

Europe is closely monitoring a suspected case of pneumonic plague in eastern Russia following the death of a lab worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East. The 28-year-old employee died on Friday, and while Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s consumer watchdog, has not confirmed the exact cause of death, Alexei Tsydenov, head of the neighboring republic of Buryatia, suggested it could be pneumonic plague.

The World Health Organization defines pneumonic plague as an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, usually found in small mammals and their fleas, and treatable with antibiotics. This is the first reported case of pneumonic plague in Europe in more than 50 years, and the disease continues to appear in other regions such as the Americas, Africa, and Asia.

Brief written by urgent.news from Politico EU's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.