Todesfall an Pest-Institut: Angeblich kein Pestfall in Sibirien - doch neue Infos fehlen

The death of a researcher at a pest research center in Siberia has not been officially attributed to a pest outbreak, but new information is lacking. The Moscow health and epidemic department attempted to reassure concerns about a possible epidemic on Tuesday, stating that the health and epidemic situation in the Irkutsk region and Irkutsk and Shelechow cities is calm.

An internet rumor about anti-pest measures and strict restrictions was dismissed as false, with the department confirming that no such decisions have been made. The 28-year-old scientist from the Pest Control Institute in Irkutsk died on Friday at the hospital in nearby Shelechow. Speculation arose that she may have contracted the lung plague, possibly even during a lab accident.

Rospotrebnadzor denied both a lab accident and a pest infection in a statement on Sunday, citing "pneumonia of undetermined aetiology" (lung inflammation of unknown origin) as the cause of death. Further investigations found no microorganisms linked to her professional activities in her body, but reports indicate that three hospitals, a children's clinic, and a maternity hospital were closed due to the incident in Irkutsk and Shelechow.

The institute's staff was placed in quarantine. Central Asian states - Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan - tightened border surveillance for potential infected individuals. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Russia to provide more information. Despite the Russian authorities' attempts to calm the situation, internet speculation about a potentially impending epidemic continues.

The diverse reasons behind the mistrust in the situation in Irkutsk include the similarity of the global Covid-19 pandemic's origins in Wuhan, China, to the mysterious lung disease that started in 2019, and Russia's historical tendency to downplay or deny catastrophes, such as the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 and the sinking of the nuclear submarine Kursk in 2000.

The low level of trust in official communications has led to recent actions, such as the slaughter of thousands of farm animals in Siberia due to alleged animal diseases, even though farmers believed their livestock to be healthy. Experts believe the Russian measures are appropriate, especially considering the bioweapon threat posed by the plague.

Scientists support a more sober view of the Irkutsk case, emphasizing the need to develop detection strategies and potentially develop vaccines for the plague, given its potential as a bioweapon. The Russian authorities' reaction of placing institute staff and clinics in quarantine appears proportionate, especially in the case of a possible pest outbreak.

Victor Wren of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine noted that pneumonic plague can only be effectively treated with antibiotics if administered promptly. However, the challenge may arise if the institute was working with strains of the plague bacterium that are resistant to many antibiotics. Alice Hughes of the University of Melbourne stated that even if an infection is confirmed, rapid response measures are unlikely to allow the bacterium to spread widely, as global outbreaks of the plague are still relatively limited, mostly confined to specific geographic regions like Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

There are many animal carriers of the bacterium, so the risk of human transmission persists. Even in Russia, the plague is present, with the Yersinia pestis bacterium circulating among various rodents in Siberia. The Pest Control Institute in Irkutsk has been researching the disease since its establishment in 1934. Zania Stamataki of the University of Birmingham emphasized that "pest is not a disease of the past," highlighting the importance of diagnostics, vaccine development, and monitoring antibiotic resistance through laboratories that can handle the live bacterium.