Siberia quarantines 200 after suspected bubonic plague death

Russian officials have imposed quarantine protocols after a suspected bubonic plague death of a laboratory worker in Siberia, with around 200 people placed under observation for potential exposure. The plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, spreads mainly through flea bites or contact with infected animals. While untreated bubonic plague can have a 50-60% mortality rate, it is treatable with antibiotics, unlike the more dangerous pneumonic form which transmits directly between humans. Experts say bubonic plague does not pose the same pandemic threat as Covid-19, though the pneumonic variant is considered highly fatal without treatment. Unlike Ebola, a viral disease, plague is bacterial and effectively curable with antibiotics.