Govt Reveals Chances of Plague Coming in Pakistan From Russia

The federal health ministry of Pakistan has evaluated the risk of plague entering the country from Russia as very low, despite a suspected case in Russia's Siberia region. Border Health Services have been notified at all entry points, and the National Institute of Health (NIH) is equipped to diagnose the disease. The director general of health confirmed that both the ministry and NIH are aware of the situation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet received complete information about the suspected case. The incident arose after Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory worker at Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia, died on October 2. Russian authorities initially quarantined around 200 individuals who had been in contact with her, later releasing 90% after nearly 5,000 laboratory tests found no plague cases among them.

Russia's health regulator declared on Wednesday that there was no epidemic risk, and precautionary measures were being reduced. Shipilova's death has not been officially confirmed as a plague case; Russian authorities suggested she died from an unidentified type of pneumonia. Plague is a bacterial infection transmitted through infected flea bites or respiratory particles, and early diagnosis and antibiotic treatment can be effective in treating the infection.