How Russia and the world are responding to a possible case of pneumonic plague after lab worker dies

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says a possible case of pneumonic plague in Russia presents a “very low” risk outside the country as investigators look into what caused the death from pneumonia of a lab employee there last week.

The U.N. health agency said on Tuesday that it has been in contact with Russian authorities following reports of the death last week of a woman who worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East.

The case and the investigation, led by Russian officials, have revived memories of the COVID-19 pandemic and allegations that the coronavirus may have emerged at a Chinese lab. WHO has not provided a definitive answer to how the pandemic began.

Here's what to know about the case and how experts are mobilizing after the woman's death:

The incubation period for pneumonic plague — which means lung-based and is the most virulent form of the disease — can be as short as 24 hours, according to WHO. It’s a less common but severe form that can spread between people through respiratory particles.

If untreated, the illness can be fatal, but recovery rates are high if detected and treated in time — within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms, WHO says.

Symptoms include shortness of breath and coughing, often involving the coughing up of blood.

The more common form of plague — bubonic plague — is caused by the bite of an infected flea, and can develop into open sores filled with pus.

Pneumonia is a form of acute respiratory infection that is mostly caused by viruses or bacteria, and is spread generally through contact with infected people or from airborne droplets. WHO says pneumonia is the single largest infectious cause of death in children worldwide.

Through an international health alert system, Russian health officials on Tuesday said a full range of preventive measures had been carried out — including tracing of the deceased woman's contacts, medical monitoring and lab tests.

“Test results showed no presence of dangerous infectious disease pathogens in any of the contacts,” said the note from Russian authorities, which was relayed to The Associated Press by WHO.

"Based on available data, laboratory test results, and health status, medical monitoring for 100% of the contacts has now been concluded," it said. “The epidemiological situation is stable and remains under monitoring.”

The woman died at a hospital in Shelekhov, a town just outside the city of Irkutsk, and its mayor said the hospital was placed under quarantine. The top officials from Russia’s national public health watchdog traveled to the region on Friday.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov advised the public to follow official statements from the watchdog agency, Rospotrebnadzor, rather than “rumors or speculation.”

WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told a U.N. briefing on Tuesday that the institute where the woman worked “studies dangerous pathogens,” including plague in a part of Siberia where the disease "occurs naturally in wild animals.”

He said Russian officials have not yet asked for WHO experts to deploy to Russia, where authorities are "looking into whether pneumonic plague caused her death.”

In recent days, WHO has brought in technical experts to its Geneva headquarters and the European regional office in Copenhagen in connection with the investigation, including specialists in high-threat pathogens.

“The WHO initial risk assessment from the information available estimates ... the risk to be moderate-to-low for Irkutsk; a low risk for the Russian Federation as a whole; and very low for the WHO European region,” Lindmeier said.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he was watching the situation with concern and that the United States would be willing to help, though he said he had not spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the case.

Asked about Trump’s remarks, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said Tuesday that “it is always very good when mutual assistance is offered.” He wouldn’t elaborate further, deferring to Rospotrebnadzor.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Russian authorities to share more information.

“Maybe there’s nothing there. Maybe it’s bigger than we thought. We don’t know,” he said at a news conference in Iceland. “We’re watching it very closely and I think the whole world is watching it very closely."

“We encourage Russia to be more transparent and share more information with the world,” Rubio said, adding this has so far been “quite limited, but hopefully that will change in the next few hours and days.”

Ian Jones, professor of virology at the University of Reading, said that “plague carries a huge history and is still present in many parts of the world, including Russia,” although because of modern living conditions and antibiotics, its potential was limited.

Dr. Glenn Wortmann, at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center, said the bacteria that cause plague don't “travel very far” and a person would “really need to be face-to-face” with an infected person to get pneumonic plague.

“The chance of this spreading widely in Russia and then extending here to the U.S. will not happen, not with this type of bacteria, because it’s not spread easily and we have antibiotics to stop it from spreading,” he added.

Associated Press writers Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, and Matthew Lee in Reykjavik, Iceland, contributed to this report.