Conflicting information about the death of a lab worker at a Russian plague research institute has fueled fears about the possibility of pneumonic plague spreading. Nearly 200 people are in quarantine in Siberia after 28-year-old Darya Shipilova fell ill at work and later died on October 2. The exact circumstances of her death are unknown.
A senior Russian official posted on social media last week that Shipilova “had died from the plague”— before editing the post to add “possibly.” Russia’s health watchdog has since stated she died from “pneumonia of unknown etiology.” Local media reports suggested she was infected following an accident at the lab where she worked, the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. But these have not been confirmed. So, what is plague, and how does it spread?
Are There Different Types? Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. The bacteria generally live in ground-dwelling rodents such as rats and prairie dogs, but can also infect humans.
The same Y. pestis bacteria can cause three different types of plague. Bubonic plague is spread from animals to humans by fleas, and causes swelling (called buboes) in the lymph nodes. Other symptoms include fever, headache, chills and weakness.
Bubonic plague can kill within a few days if antibiotics are not used. Between 30-60 percent of people who contract this form of plague will die. Septicemic plague occurs if bubonic plague is left untreated, or it can occur directly if the disease enters the bloodstream.
Septicemic plague causes bleeding into the organs; the name refers to the serious blood infection, septicemia, that this form of the disease can cause. Pneumonic plague—the suspected but unconfirmed cause of Shipilova’s death in Siberia—can occur when bubonic plague spreads to the lungs. But pneumonic plague can also spread from person to person via tiny respiratory droplets.
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