Suspected Pneumonic Plague Death In Russia Sparks Concern, Kerala IMA Expert Says No Immediate Threat To India

Amid unverified reports of a suspected pneumonic plague death in Russia, a Kerala Indian Medical Association (IMA) expert has said there is no immediate threat to India and urged people not to panic.

Rajeev Jayadevan, convenor of the Research Cell at the Kerala State IMA, said health authorities were tracing the contacts of the person who died. He stressed that while pneumonic plague was suspected, the official cause of death had not yet been confirmed, ANI reports.

“Yersinia pestis is a bacterium that causes plague. When we call it an outbreak, right now it's an evolving story, and we only know that a lab worker died of pneumonia and that the lab contained a test tube that contained this bacterium. So it's logical to assume that the person died of pneumonic plague, but that's not been confirmed upfront,” he said.

Cause Of Death Yet To Be Confirmed

Jayadevan said it was important to quickly establish the cause of death and associated risk factors, while identifying and tracing people who had been in close contact with the person.

Explaining the nature of Yersinia pestis, he said the bacterium causes plague, which can manifest in three main clinical forms, affecting the skin, lungs or bloodstream.

“This bacterium causes the plague. There are basically three forms of plague. The same bacteria causes all three forms. Either you get the skin problem, like a skin lesion, or you can get pneumonia. That's an infection in the lung. It can also spread into the blood and travel to various parts of the body,” he said.

The pneumonic form is particularly serious because it affects the lungs and can progress rapidly, Jayadevan said.

“The kind that involves the lungs can rapidly progress to death in about 24 hours,” he added.

Contact Tracing Key To Preventing Spread

Jayadevan said plague was well understood by modern medicine and preventive measures were available. People identified as being at risk could be prescribed antibiotics, particularly those who had been in close contact with an infected person.

“Plague is well known to modern medicine. There are preventive methods. For instance, people who are at risk can take antibiotics prescribed by the investigating team. Not everybody needs it, but those who are in close contact do,” he noted.

Emphasising the importance of identifying potential contacts, he said: “Contact tracing is the way to go. That is, track the number of people, identify them, see where they have moved, see if they have come into contact with other people, monitor them and watch them for symptoms.”

‘No Need For Any Panic’ In India

Jayadevan said there was no immediate risk of the bacterium reaching India through travel. While pneumonic plague can spread from person to person in crowded settings, he said those severely affected were typically too ill to travel or spread the infection widely.

“There's really no need for any panic here. From India's standpoint, this is a matter that's occurring in another country. There is really no risk of someone travelling this far carrying this bacteria. Its ability to spread from person to person varies depending on the setting. If the person is in a very crowded area, yes, it can affect many people, but typically these individuals are too ill to spread the bacteria,” he emphasised.

Symptoms Of Pneumonic Plague

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with pneumonic plague commonly experience fever, headache and weakness, followed by rapidly developing pneumonia, breathing difficulties, chest pain and cough. They may also develop bloody or watery sputum.

Published on: Monday, October 05, 2026, 04:41 PM IST