It strikes suddenly, causing high fever, headache, and chills that set the body shaking. No, not the Covid sweeping Britain right now… but the BUBONIC PLAGUE
A suspected pneumonic plague death in Russia has reignited fears about one of history's most deadly diseases. The 28-year-old laboratory technician Darya Shipilova reportedly became ill after dropping a test tube containing the pneumonic plague pathogen at her laboratory; Russia has not officially confirmed the cause of death, but another plague death was subsequently reported in the region. This case has raised concerns about the potential resurgence of a disease that, in its pneumonic form, is almost 100 per cent fatal without prompt treatment and can spread person-to-person through respiratory droplets, unlike the bubonic form transmitted by infected fleas.
The bacterium Yersinia pestis causes both forms of plague. Lucinda Marker, who contracted bubonic plague in New York in 2002 alongside her husband John Tull—the first confirmed cases in the city in over 100 years—describes the sudden onset of high fever, severe headache, chills and muscle aches, followed by agonising swellings called buboes in the lymph glands, which can grow to the size of a hen's egg. The couple, who lived near Santa Fe, New Mexico where plague still circulates among wild rodents, had unknowingly been bitten by infected fleas before travelling to New York; both became seriously ill and required intensive medical treatment, with John's condition so severe that his organs began shutting down.
- A suspected pneumonic plague death in Russia has raised resurgence fears.
- The disease is almost 100 per cent fatal without prompt treatment.
- A New York couple who contracted it in 2002 suffered severe complications.
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Plague is caused by bacteria called Yersinia pestis and has killed millions throughout history. The disease spreads in different ways depending on its form: bubonic plague typically spreads through infected fleas, whilst pneumonic plague can spread directly between people through respiratory droplets like coughs or sneezes.
Someone infected with bubonic plague develops sudden high fever, severe headaches and painful swellings in the lymph glands called buboes. Pneumonic plague affects the lungs and spreads more easily from person to person. Both forms are serious, and without prompt antibiotic treatment, the pneumonic form is almost universally fatal.
Modern medicine can treat plague effectively with antibiotics if caught early, but the speed at which pneumonic plague spreads makes it particularly concerning. Laboratory workers who handle the disease must follow strict safety protocols, and any cases raise global health concerns about potential outbreaks.