Reports of a case of pneumonic plague at a research institute in Siberia have triggered international concern, with US president Donald Trump saying he plans to speak with Russian president Vladimir Putin about the case even as the World Health Organisation says the risk beyond Russia remains “very low”.
asserted
risk → trigger → Russia
The case emerged after a woman working at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East died last week.
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woman → emerge → Siberia
Russian authorities said she had pneumonia of unknown cause, while reports in Russian media and on social media suggested she may have contracted pneumonic plague.
uncertain
she → say → plague
There is, however, no confirmation that the woman died of plague.
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woman → be → plague
The WHO said Tuesday that it was in contact with Russian authorities following reports of her death.
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it → say → death
Russian officials told the agency that no case of plague had been recorded in Irkutsk and that tests had found no dangerous infectious pathogens among people who had been in contact with the woman.
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who → tell → woman
Why did the case raise alarms
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case → raise → alarms
Pneumonic plague is the least common but most virulent form of plague and affects the lungs.
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plague → affect → lungs
Unlike bubonic plague, which is generally transmitted through infected fleas, pneumonic plague can spread between people through respiratory particles.
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plague → transmit → particles
The disease can become fatal if untreated, but WHO says recovery rates are high when it is detected and treated promptly.
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it → become → ?
Symptoms can include shortness of breath and coughing, sometimes with blood.
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Symptoms → include → blood
The possibility of a respiratory disease emerging from a laboratory has also revived memories of the Covid-19 pandemic and the debate over its origins.
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possibility → emerge → origins
WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier stressed that there was currently no indication that the Siberian case was comparable to the pandemic.
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case → stress → pandemic
“There is currently no indication that we are dealing with anything similar to the pandemic,” Lindmeier told news agency AP.
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Lindmeier → be → pandemic
The institute where the woman worked studies dangerous pathogens, including plague, in a region where the disease occurs naturally among wild animals.
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disease → work → animals
What Russia is saying
Russian health authorities said they had carried out preventive measures including contact tracing, medical monitoring and laboratory testing.
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they → say → tracing
According to a health alert relayed to AP by WHO, tests found no dangerous infectious disease pathogens among the woman's contacts.
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tests → accord → contacts
Authorities said medical monitoring of all contacts had also been completed and that the epidemiological situation remained stable.
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situation → say → contacts
Russian officials have pushed back against speculation surrounding the death.
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officials → push → death
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged the public to rely on statements from Rospotrebnadzor, Russia's public health watchdog, rather than “rumors or speculation”.
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Peskov → urge → rumors
Russian media reports have offered different accounts of how the woman may have become ill, including an alleged laboratory accident involving a test tube containing live bacteria.
uncertain
woman → offer → bacteria
Another report suggested a possible link to travel.
uncertain
report → suggest → travel
There is no public evidence supporting those theories, and Russia's health watchdog rejected the laboratory-accident account.
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watchdog → be → account
Trump, Rubio seek more information
Trump said he was due to speak with Putin about the case “very soon” and said the US was engaged in “very deep discussions” on the issue.
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US → seek → issue
He had earlier offered to help Russia, describing plague as a disease that had once been controllable but saying microbes had become “stronger and smarter”.
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microbes → offer → disease
Secretary of state Marco Rubio also urged Moscow to provide more information.
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Rubio → urge → information
Maybe it’s bigger than we thought.
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we → ’ → ?
We don’t know,” Rubio said, calling on Russia to be more transparent and share information with the international community.
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Rubio → know → community
The Kremlin said it welcomed offers of assistance but referred questions about the case to Rospotrebnadzor.
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it → say → Rospotrebnadzor
Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and still occurs naturally in parts of the world, including Siberia.
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Plague → cause → Siberia
Pneumonic plague is particularly concerning because it can be transmitted through respiratory particles.
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it → transmit → particles
But experts quoted by AP said the bacteria do not spread easily over long distances, and modern antibiotics can prevent the disease from becoming a wider threat when cases are detected quickly.
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cases → quote → disease
WHO has said the risk outside Russia is currently “very low”.
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risk → say → Russia
The Irkutsk institute, established in 1934, was created to control plague outbreaks in Siberia and the Far East and has since worked on other dangerous diseases including cholera and anthrax.
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institute → establish → cholera
The Aporia
