Suspected case of plague in Siberia
A laboratory worker at a plague research institute in Irkutsk, Russia, has died from a suspected case of pneumonic plague. As a result, several hospitals have been placed under quarantine for at least three weeks. According to official sources, no further cases of infection have been recorded, but the Russian authorities have disclosed very little information so far. The press discusses the risk of infection and calls for more transparency.
Transparency is the best prevention
The Irish Independent is alarmed by Russia's secretiveness:
“If a laboratory worker really has contracted plague while working with the pathogen, the obvious questions are: how did it happen, what strain was involved, what safeguards failed and has anybody else been exposed? Those questions should be answered quickly and transparently. Instead, information has apparently been restricted and reporting suppressed. If an outbreak is natural and under control, transparency should be the order of the day. During the time that China attempted to keep Covid secret, the disease spread to every corner of the world.”
Not trustworthy
Hvg is sceptical about the official Russian explanations:
“In Irkutsk, three general hospitals, a children's hospital and a maternity hospital have been placed under quarantine for at least three weeks. According to local press reports the staff at the anti-plague research institute are also not being allowed to leave the building. However, no infections have been registered so far – at least this is the official line. Yet we know since Chernobyl that the statements of Russian authorities are not always trustworthy. This suspicion is being reinforced by the fact that President Donald Trump has offered US assistance in response to the outbreak.”
Low risk of epidemic
Polityka offers words of reassurance:
“The institute is refusing to make a statement to foreign media. This is probably fuelling concerns more than the incident itself. Epidemiologists assure us that while pneumonic plague is a deadly disease, it is not easily transmitted from person to person, and for infection to occur, contact with a high concentration of the pathogen is required. There is a possibility – if this really is the plague – that more people will fall ill. But the risk of a widescale epidemic seems low at present, because those who have been in contact with the infected person are being monitored and no further cases have been identified so far.”