Unproven 'cures' pushed online amid plague concerns

WASHINGTON: Reports that a woman employed at a plague research institute in Russia's Irkutsk region had died of the disease have spiked online interest in possible treatments for the illness in North America.

Russia has not confirmed that the woman died of plague, and the governor of the region said on Thursday that no health issues had been detected after all her contacts were traced.

But on social media, influencers and doomsday "preppers" are pushing the need to purchase a US$300 kit claimed to help people avoid emergency room visits.

"Don't wait until everybody is scrambling. Prepare before you need it," says the caption of a Facebook video viewed more than 161,000 times under the hashtags #Russia and #plague.

The posts include personalised discount codes, suggesting the creators may receive financial compensation if a purchase is made.

The Wellness Company brand promoted in many of the videos saw a subsequent spike in online searches, according to Google Trends data.

The company is fronted by Peter McCullough, an American cardiologist who has promoted Covid-19 conspiracies and health misinformation debunked by AFP. It did not immediately respond to questions about the kits.

Rogan O'Handley, known on social media as DC Draino, highlighted the kit's inclusion of the antibiotic doxycycline to his 2.9 million followers.

The antibiotic is among those used to treat plague in countries that see cases each year, helping to contain outbreaks.

"We know how to treat it," said Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto General Hospital.

"Obviously it can be a very severe infection," he said, but he warned against taking a course of antibiotics without known exposure.

He said the unconfirmed case in Russia "isn't the type of infection that would cause a pandemic".

Paul Keim, a plague researcher and professor at Northern Arizona University, also said there was no reason for people in North America to start taking doxycycline.

"You're altering the microbiome of your gut, and perhaps creating antibiotic resistant bacteria in your body that will fight off the drug therapy the next time you really need it," he said.

Ineffective remedies

The kits are also said to include "hard-to-find" prescription medications such as ivermectin.

But "ivermectin is never really used for a bacterial disease", Keim said.

The anti-parasitic drug is only approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat worm diseases.

Yet it continues to be the go-to solution touted in health misinformation — in part because authorities dismissed it as an effective treatment for Covid-19 following unsuccessful clinical trials.

This is not the first public health concern to prompt individuals to offer unproven medical solutions.

When a cruise ship passenger contracted the rare hantavirus in May, accounts also immediately touted ivermectin as a "cure", even though there is no known treatment.

Amid the 2026 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, videos of a doctor recommending vitamin D3 and zinc spread from accounts selling supplements, despite these being unable to treat the disease.

"Whenever there is a crisis — especially in the health space — the grifters are gonna come out," said Timothy Caulfield, a misinformation expert and professor at the University of Alberta.

"They exploit fear and uncertainty to sell unproven products."