Suspected plague death sparks outbreak concerns. Should we be worried?

After a laboratory worker at a plague research institute in southeastern Russia fell ill and died, prompting authorities to quarantine dozens of people, concerns around public health and another pandemic are growing on social media.

"Damn it, COVID-19 round two here we come," one person wrote on X.

"We are still recovering from the trauma and lack of trust from COVID. can we like, not?" another said.

"Another lockdown loading?" one user wondered. "Oh boy, here comes the masks again," another wrote.

But experts say Americans likely don't need to worry about an outbreak hitting our shores.

"The risk right now is negligibly low, and the chances of it to spread to our homeland is very less likely," Dr. Rutul Dalal, an infectious disease physician at Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center, told USA TODAY.

He added that he understands the concern, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, but pointed out there are differences here – namely, a way to treat it.

"We have antibiotics for treatment and for prophylaxis, and if given within the first 24 hours of symptoms, has an excellent track record of having great results," Dalal said. That contrasts greatly with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when we didn't have a vaccine or medication yet to combat it.

Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, CEO of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, added that people should "remain calm" but still "be vigilant."

Because of the location and many details left unconfirmed, the situation is raising questions.

"We don't really have a window onto what was going on at this research institute. Why were they studying plague?" Marrazzo said, adding this is a "dangerous pathogen." "Whoever works with these agents in a laboratory should have many layers of safety incorporated. You would have expected if this happened that the worker would have immediately got prophylactic antibiotics ... We have no information about so many important things about this, I think it's something we just have to keep paying attention to and to be aware of."

U.S. and European officials are tracking the situation, with a spokesperson for the State Department saying it was "aware of ​reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague" in Russia and monitoring developments alongside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We're watching and monitoring it closely. I don't think it's cause for alarm," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Oct. 5 before leaving for a trip to Europe.

People who came in contact with the lab worker who died were quarantined and have not shown any signs of infection as of Oct. 5, according to Maxim Modin, mayor of the nearby town of Shelekhov. He said that the town’s medical facilities have reopened for normal operations and are accepting patients.  

"All individuals who came into contact with the woman have been identified, examined, and are under medical observation with daily laboratory tests," he said in a social media post.

Plague comes in three forms affecting different parts of the body. Pneumonic plague, an infection of the lungs, prompts the patient to cough out infectious airborne droplets. If identified quickly, it can be treated with antibiotics. But if left untreated, it can be fatal in one to six days.

Pneumonic plague is the most dangerous form of the illness, since it can be transmitted person-to-person and cause severe epidemics.

The illness is infamous for killing tens of million in Europe and Eurasia in the 14th century during a global pandemic known as the Black Death. In modern times, the plague is a very rare illness that does occasionally infect people in certain parts of the world, such as western United States and certain regions in Asia and Africa.

Contributing: Miles J. Herszenhorn, USA TODAY; Reuters