No plague risk for Europe, French expert says after Russian lab death

A French specialist has reassured the public that there is no risk of plague spreading to Europe following the death of a Russian laboratory worker who studied the disease. The expert noted that plague is not present in European animals. Plague is a rodent disease transmitted between animals via fleas, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Major animal reservoirs exist in Africa, particularly Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with smaller foci in the Americas and Asia. Humans contract it through flea bites, leading to bubonic or pulmonary forms. The pulmonary form is fatal within days without early antibiotic treatment, and no effective vaccine is currently available. While plague is considered a re-emerging disease, outbreaks are typically contained through contact tracing, and Western Europe faces no animal reservoir threat.