The CDC is coordinating with other federal agencies to monitor travelers arriving in the US from Siberia, Director Erica Schwartz said, while describing the threat to the US as “extremely low.” Pneumonic plague can spread through respiratory droplets during close contact and is treatable with antibiotics, particularly when treatment begins early.
The World Health Organization is pressing Moscow for more information, saying the disclosures so far are insufficient to determine the risk. A worker at the Irkutsk Antiplague Research Institute died Oct. 2 after severe pneumonia; neither plague nor a reported laboratory exposure has been confirmed. Russian authorities told the WHO that no recent plague case had been registered in the region, no high-threat pathogens were detected among contacts and their medical observation had ended. The WHO also seeks details on reports of a second employee with pneumonia of undetermined cause.