[Why&Next] "Death in Russia Raises Plague Suspicions... Biosafety Management for High-Risk Pathogens Needs Review"

WHO: Causative pathogen remains unidentified, as the deceased had no confirmed diagnosis
Risk of introduction into South Korea is "low"... Need to review diagnostic and treatment capabilities

After a researcher at a Russian plague research institute died of pneumonia of unknown cause, raising suspicions of plague infection, the likelihood of the disease entering South Korea is considered very low. However, as the exact cause of death has not been confirmed and the incident occurred at a laboratory that handles high-risk pathogens, calls are growing to review biosafety management and the country’s capacity to diagnose and treat the disease.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on October 16, the agency decided at a situation review meeting on October 12 to maintain the overall domestic risk assessment related to the incident at "low." In a rapid risk assessment conducted on October 7, it had also rated the likelihood of an outbreak in South Korea as "very low" and the impact of an imported case as "low."

The KDCA said it would instead strengthen monitoring, focusing on people with fever or respiratory symptoms among those arriving in South Korea who had visited or stayed in Russia. If the risk level rises, the agency plans to take additional quarantine measures, such as designating Russia as a quarantine management area. It also said that if a suspected case arises, the patient will be immediately transferred to a nationally designated hospital bed for isolation and treatment, and that sufficient antibiotics needed for treatment have already been secured.

According to a disease outbreak report released by the World Health Organization (WHO), Russian authorities tested the deceased and their contacts for several pathogens, including plague, but reported that none of the high-risk pathogens tested for were detected. No additional cases of severe pneumonia were identified among the contacts. Russian authorities claimed that two independent investigations found no laboratory biosafety or biosecurity incident.

However, the WHO has identified the absence of a confirmed diagnosis for the deceased as a key uncertainty. Since the pathogen that caused the death has not been identified, the possibility of laboratory-related exposure cannot be completely ruled out at this stage. The WHO also said it could not independently determine whether the contact observation period was long enough to rule out all diseases that could have caused the death. For now, it has not recommended travel or trade restrictions.

According to the KDCA, plague is not a disease that has disappeared. Cases continue to occur in Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mongolia and other places. Routes of transmission also differ by form of infection: bubonic plague is mainly contracted through contact with infected fleas or animals, while pneumonic plague (lung plague) can spread from person to person through respiratory droplets. Pneumonic plague has a high fatality rate if treatment is delayed, but can be treated effectively with antibiotics if diagnosed early.

Experts stress that rather than interpreting the incident as a sign of a plague outbreak, it should be treated as an opportunity to strengthen safety management at facilities that handle high-risk pathogens and improve the infectious disease response system.

Ko Kwansu, a professor in the Department of Microbiology at Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine and director of its Medical Research Institute, said, "It is unclear whether plague caused this incident, but several cases of plague occur in Inner Mongolia every year, and cases are also reported annually in the United States. However, it has been a very long time since plague was reported to have entered South Korea. If it did enter the country, the fact that there are very few medical professionals able to diagnose and treat it properly could become a problem." He added, "The health authorities should make it a top priority to inform the public about plague symptoms and how medical professionals should respond."

Jung Jaehoon, a professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and the Interdisciplinary Program in Public Health at Korea University School of Medicine, said, "Infection of a researcher at a laboratory handling high-risk pathogens is rare, but it is not unprecedented." He added, "It is necessary to review contact tracing, early response and treatment capabilities so that medical professionals can recognize suspected symptoms and swiftly connect patients with appropriate testing and treatment in a real-world situation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.