Following unverified reports concerning a suspected fatal case of pneumonic plague originating within Russia, Rajeev Jayadevan, Convener of the Research Cell at the Kerala State Indian Medical Association (IMA), emphasised that health authorities are actively tracing contacts and that there is no cause for public panic or immediate threat to India.
So it’s logical to assume that the person died of pneumonic plague, but that’s not been confirmed upfront,” he said. “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. “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. The IMA Research Cell convenor emphasised that plague is a well-understood disease in modern medicine, and effective preventive measures, including targeted antibiotics, can safeguard an individual who comes into 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. Furthermore, Jayadevan reassured that there is no risk of the bacteria reaching India through travel. He noted that while human-to-human transmission of pneumonic plague can occur in densely crowded settings, individuals infected with the severe strain are typically too ill to travel or spread the disease widely. Individuals suffering from pneumonic plague commonly experience elevated temperatures, cranial discomfort, and fatigue, preceding fast-onset pneumonia, breathing difficulties, thoracic discomfort, coughing fits, and occasionally blood-tinged or fluid-like secretions, per documentation from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
It can also spread into the blood and travel to various parts of the body,” he said.
