Russian Plague

Alex Easton, section editor

In early October 2026, reports from Russia raised fears of a new plague outbreak. A worker at a Anti Plague Research Institute died after developing severe pneumonia. Since she worked at a laboratory which studied dangerous diseases, rumors quickly spread that she might have caught the plague after the she might have broken a test tube or vile containing the plague.

The story took the world by storm, yet the claims were not confirmed. Russian health authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) that the worker’s illness was pneumonia of a unknown cause, and in further test no traces of the plague were found. Authorities also reported that there weren’t any accidents in the lab. WHO said the people who were in contact with the worker were quarantined along with being closely monitored, which no symptoms or plague pathogens were detected in them. 

That does not mean every single detail is accounted for. WHO made clear that the exact cause of the woman’s illness was still unclear and that it doesn’t directly mean the plague is back. This unconfirmed case doesn’t indicate that there is a outbreak, it just seems that way to the public due to the coverage and opinion associated with this great issue. 

Is this something to be alarmed about as a student of Johns Creek high school, not at all. It’s another large story from the news that is often very oversaturated, its similar to the hantavirus scare. Although it is scary to think about, it just a false alarm. Or is it?