US Congressman Dismisses Russian Plague Fears, Says Americans Have 'A Lot More to Worry About'

Republican Representative Andy Harris has played down concerns that a suspected plague incident in Siberia could pose a wider threat to the United States. The Maryland congressman, who practised as an anaesthesiologist at Johns Hopkins for nearly three decades, told Newsmax that Americans had 'a lot more to worry about than this'.

Asked how realistic it was for plague to become a larger public-health threat in the US, Harris said: 'Look, I think this occurred in a very isolated circumstance. It's in Siberia. It's not in a major American metro. Americans have a lot more to worry about than this.'

What the WHO Has Said About Irkutsk

The interview concerned the death of a 28-year-old employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. Russian authorities have denied that plague was involved, while the World Health Organization has requested further information about the laboratory findings and the public-health measures taken.

WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said the institute studies dangerous pathogens, including plague, in a part of Siberia where the disease occurs naturally in wild animals.

At a Geneva briefing on 6 October, Lindmeier said authorities were investigating whether pneumonic plague caused her death.

'To date, no cause of death has been officially confirmed and laboratory testing is reportedly underway,' he said.

WHO's initial assessment, based on the information available at that point, put the risk at 'moderate to low' for Irkutsk, 'low' for Russia as a whole and 'very low' for the WHO European region. Lindmeier said the assessment would be updated as more information became available.

On 7 October, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Russian authorities had told the agency there was no evidence that pneumonic plague played a part in the worker's death. Authorities also reported that testing had detected no dangerous pathogens among her contacts.

WHO nevertheless requested further details about laboratory results, testing and the reasons for the public-health measures. It also sought information about media reports of another suspicious pneumonia death in the region. That report was not presented as a confirmed second plague death.

Harris Practised Medicine at Johns Hopkins

According to his official congressional biography, Harris studied medicine at Johns Hopkins and practised there as an anaesthesiologist for nearly three decades, specialising in obstetric anaesthesiology.

He also served 17 years in the Naval Reserve, reaching the rank of commander. Harris was elected to represent Maryland's 1st Congressional District in 2010 and began serving in Congress in January 2011.

He became chairman of the House Freedom Caucus in September 2024.

Harris's comments were his assessment of the potential threat to Americans. They were separate from WHO's preliminary evaluation of the incident, which covered Irkutsk, Russia and the WHO European region.

Plague Has Never Fully Left the US

According to his official congressional biography, Harris studied medicine at Johns Hopkins and practised there as an anaesthesiologist for nearly three decades, specialising in obstetric anaesthesiology.

He also served 17 years in the Naval Reserve, reaching the rank of commander. Harris was elected to represent Maryland's 1st Congressional District in 2010 and began serving in Congress in January 2011.

He became chairman of the House Freedom Caucus in September 2024.

Harris's comments were his assessment of the potential threat to Americans. They were separate from WHO's preliminary evaluation of the incident, which covered Irkutsk, Russia and the WHO European region.

Plague Has Never Fully Left the US

Plague remains rare in the United States, with cases occurring mainly in rural areas of the West, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC says an average of five human plague cases have been reported annually in recent decades, with yearly totals ranging from zero to 17. More than 80% of American cases have been the bubonic form.

Most US cases occur in northern New Mexico, northern Arizona and southern Colorado, as well as California, southern Oregon and far western Nevada.

Plague was introduced into the US in 1900 aboard rat-infested steamships. The last urban plague epidemic occurred in Los Angeles from 1924 through 1925.

The disease spread from urban rats to rural rodent populations and became established in parts of the western US. Since then, human cases have occurred mainly in rural areas.

The CDC says cases in eastern states have involved people who travelled from the West or were exposed in laboratories.

WHO's initial assessment indicated limited wider risk from the Irkutsk incident, but its published ratings did not include a separate assessment for the United States. The agency continued to seek information after Russia said there was no evidence of plague.

Separately, CDC figures show that plague remains present in parts of the western US, where a small number of human cases are reported in most years. Those cases are distinct from the unresolved questions surrounding the Russian laboratory worker's death.