Canada closely following reports of plague in Russia, health minister says
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OTTAWA — Canada is very closely following reports that a woman who worked at a plague research institute in Siberia has died, Health Minister Marjorie Michel said on Monday.
Russian authorities say the woman contracted pneumonia from an unknown source. They also say there’s no evidence it was caused by any of the pathogens she worked with at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East.
Media outlets in Siberia have suggested the woman died of pneumonic plague, a less common but still severe form of plague that infects the lungs.
The World Health Organization says this particular form of plague is always fatal if left untreated, but antibiotics are effective against the bacteria that causes plague if it is treated early.
