Health minister says plague risk in Pakistan ‘very low’ after suspected Siberia case

• NIH capable of diagnosing plague cases.
• Health ministry monitoring situation, says health DG.
• WHO reportedly not fully briefed on suspected case.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has said the risk of plague spreading in Pakistan is currently very low following a suspected case in Siberia.

In a statement, Kamal said the World Health Organisation was also not fully aware of the situation regarding the suspected plague case in the Russian city of Siberia.

“The risk of plague spreading in Pakistan is currently very low,” the minister said.

He said Border Health Services had been alerted at all points of entry, while the National Institute of Health (NIH) had the capability to diagnose plague.

Meanwhile, the director general of health said the Ministry of Health and the NIH were fully aware of the situation.

The developments come after a laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East died on October 2, prompting precautionary measures by Russian authorities.

Authorities initially quarantined around 200 people who had come into contact with the woman, identified as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova.

Russian authorities have since said that 90% of those quarantined had been released following nearly 5,000 laboratory tests, with no plague cases detected among those who had been in contact with her.

Russia’s health regulator said on Wednesday that there was no risk of an epidemic and that precautionary measures were being wound down.

There has been no confirmation that Shipilova died of plague. A regional governor had initially said she “may” have contracted the disease.

Russia’s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said she died from an unknown type of pneumonia and that no relevant pathogens had been detected among her contacts.

Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and primarily circulates among small animals and fleas. It can spread to humans through infected flea bites, inhalation of infected respiratory particles and, rarely, ingestion of infectious material.

The disease can be treated with antibiotics if identified quickly.