Dr. Ehsan Mostafavi, the Director General of the Pasteur Institute of Iran has urged caution regarding media reports linking the death of an employee at a Russian anti-plague institute to plague, stating that no official confirmation has been issued. Until authoritative laboratory evidence and official investigations are released, any connection to plague or a laboratory accident must be treated strictly as a hypothesis. According to available reports, the individual died two days after hospitalization with severe pneumonia symptoms. Some media outlets claimed the cause was a broken test tube containing plague bacteria at the workplace, potentially exposing nearly 200 people. However, Russian authorities have not officially confirmed plague infection or death, instead diagnosing “pneumonia of unknown cause.”

Dr. Mostafavi emphasized the need to await supplementary information from reliable international sources and avoid treating unverified narratives as definitive. He noted that plague generally responds to antibiotic treatment, making its threat less comparable to emerging and re-emerging diseases without specific treatments—unless antibiotic-resistant forms emerge. The causative agent, Yersinia pestis, persists in natural cycles among rodents and infected fleas. Humans are typically infected through flea bites or, in pneumonic form, close contact with an infected person. Laboratory-acquired infection is possible but rare. Plague is not limited to low-income countries; the United States reports human cases annually, while Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo have the highest burdens.

Dr. Mostafavi cited Madagascar’s 2017 outbreak—approximately 2,400 suspected, probable, or confirmed cases and 209 deaths—which was unusual for its urban spread and high proportion of pneumonic cases. It was contained through contact tracing, prophylactic antibiotics, treatment, public communication, and strengthened surveillance. Human plague cases have also been reported in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen, and Algeria, where camels or goats were sometimes implicated as reservoirs, suggesting transmission cycles different from the classic rodent-flea route. The Director General of the Pasteur Institute of Iran stressed the need for continuous disease monitoring in Iran due to natural foci. The country’s reference plague laboratory is at the Pasteur Institute of Iran, active since 1947. Its research station in Akanlu (Hamadan Province), is a key field site. Studies over the past 15 years have documented pathogen circulation in wildlife and guard dogs in some regions. He concluded that maintaining scientific and diagnostic capacity, sustained field and laboratory surveillance, and transparent reporting are essential for national preparedness. In dealing with diseases like plague that provoke public concern, vigilance, readiness, accurate information, and avoidance of speculation are imperative.