China Breaks Silence on Plague, Says It’s in Contact With Russia

Beijing made its first official comments on the suspected case of pneumonic plague in Siberia, saying it’s cooperating with Russia as health concerns intensify around the world.

Beijing made its first official comments on the suspected case of pneumonic plague in Siberia, saying it’s cooperating with Russia as health concerns intensify around the world.

“China and Russia maintain close communication and cooperation in the prevention and control of infectious diseases, including the plague,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Tuesday in response to a question about whether Moscow has informed Beijing of the incident. 

The brief remarks, which came during a weeklong public holiday in China, follow the death last week of a worker at an anti-plague research institute in Russia’s region of Irkutsk that led to almost 200 contacts reportedly being placed under observation. Coverage of the incident has been limited in Chinese state media. 

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Pneumonic plague is a severe form of plague that affects the lungs and can be transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets. It can cause symptoms such as fever, breathing difficulties, and coughing, potentially including blood.

Russian health authorities have placed nearly 200 individuals who may have been in contact with the deceased laboratory worker under medical observation and are conducting regular laboratory testing.

The US is concerned due to the potential implications of the case, especially given the worker's occupation at a plague research facility and the global health context following past pandemics.

The World Health Organization has assessed the risk of pneumonic plague spreading outside Russia as very low, based on the current information available and the lack of confirmed cases.

The laboratory worker died from pneumonia of unknown origin, and Russian health authorities stated that detailed testing found no microorganisms linked to her professional work.

Just over a month ago, the institution in Irkutsk concluded an emergency response trial with China on handling infectious disease outbreaks. Russian and Chinese participants also discussed how to monitor and control the spread of diseases in their border regions.

The Irkutsk region lies north of Mongolia and doesn’t directly border China, but the local capital is a major hub with frequent flights and rail links to Chinese cities. China’s consulate in Irkutsk didn’t respond to a request for comment. 

The 28-year-old laboratory worker died after developing severe pneumonia. Unconfirmed local news reports said the researcher may have been exposed to the bacterium that causes plague after breaking a test tube. 

Plague is one of the world’s most feared diseases, responsible for pandemics that killed tens of millions of people. Today, though, human cases are rare and can usually be treated with antibiotics. 

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has a call scheduled with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the case “very soon.”

With assistance from Yanping Li.

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