What to Know About Suspected Plague Case in Siberia

Plague is one of history’s most feared diseases, responsible for pandemics that killed tens of millions of people. Today, human cases are rare and can usually be treated with antibiotics. A suspected case of pneumonic plague in Siberia has renewed attention on the disease after a young worker at a Russian institute that studies plague and other dangerous infections died of severe pneumonia. Russian authorities told the World Health Organization that no case of plague has been recorded in the region. Still, the circumstances of the woman’s death and the precautions taken afterward have prompted international scrutiny, with the WHO seeking more information from Russia. We speak with Dr. Amesh Aldaja, Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. (Source: Bloomberg)

Plague is one of history’s most feared diseases, responsible for pandemics that killed tens of millions of people. Today, human cases are rare and can usually be treated with antibiotics. A suspected case of pneumonic plague in Siberia has renewed attention on the disease after a young worker at a Russian institute that studies plague and other dangerous infections died of severe pneumonia. Russian authorities told the World Health Organization that no case of plague has been recorded in the region. Still, the circumstances of the woman’s death and the precautions taken afterward have prompted international scrutiny, with the WHO seeking more information from Russia. We speak with Dr. Amesh Aldaja, Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. (Source: Bloomberg)