Inner Mongolia Deletes Plague Advisory Days After Risk Warning From Russia

Health authorities in northern China have removed a plague-risk advisory just days after publishing it in response to the unexplained death of a worker at a Russian anti-plague research institute, claiming that the notice was deleted to prevent public misunderstanding.

The Hulunbuir Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Inner Mongolia issued the advisory on Oct. 10, citing global concern over the death of an employee at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia. The notice advised people arriving from plague-endemic areas of Russia’s Far East to monitor their health and seek medical attention if they developed suspicious symptoms, while disclosing their recent travel history.

At the same time, the CDC stressed that the risk to Hulunbuir remained low. “Hulunbuir has recorded no human plague cases since 1927,” the notice said, adding that routine surveillance in recent years had also detected no plague activity among rodents and authorities said the likelihood of a local outbreak is low. Meanwhile, the CDC has confirmed that it will be monitoring travelers arriving from the region.

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Notice removed after three days

On Oct. 13, a staff member at the Hulunbuir Health Commission told Shangguan News that the advisory had been removed. The official said local health authorities routinely publish monthly disease-prevention notices and described the Oct. 10 warning as “routine public-health education” intended to raise awareness.

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“The relevant content has now been deleted to avoid misunderstanding,” the staff member said. The commission also emphasized that there was no plague outbreak in Hulunbuir.

Local public-health agencies in Inner Mongolia regularly issue plague-prevention guidance ahead of periods involving increased outdoor activity, grassland work, or seasonal travel. The recommendations in the deleted notice, including avoiding contact with wild rodents, reporting unexplained animal deaths, and seeking prompt treatment for suspicious symptoms, closely resembled previous routine advisories.

Still, the timing attracted attention because the notice explicitly referenced the highly publicized case in neighboring Russia. Pneumonic plague is the most severe form of plague and can spread from person to person through respiratory droplets. Without prompt antibiotic treatment, it can become fatal very quickly, although early treatment is generally effective.

Lab worker’s death remains unexplained

The World Health Organization said on Oct. 10 that the Irkutsk institute employee was hospitalized with severe pneumonia on Sept. 29, quickly got worse, and then died on Oct. 2. Early media reports suggested the worker could have died from pneumonic plague following a possible occupational exposure in the laboratory. Russian authorities later told WHO that no plague case had been registered in Irkutsk Oblast and that testing of the patient and contacts had found no high-threat pathogens.

Russian officials also said no laboratory biosafety accident had occurred and that all identified contacts remained asymptomatic. WHO said it had found no evidence of ongoing transmission linked to the case. However, the organization noted that the exact cause of the worker’s fatal illness remains unknown.

“A key uncertainty remains the absence of a confirmed diagnosis in the deceased laboratory worker,” WHO said, adding that a laboratory-associated exposure could not yet be completely ruled out.

Other Chinese regions issue precautions

Hulunbuir was not the only Chinese region to issue plague-related guidance. Authorities in Guangdong and Hunan also published seasonal plague-prevention information in early October, while RFA reported that officials in Suifenhe, a border city in Heilongjiang Province, carried out targeted health education related to the Russian case.

The Hulunbuir advisory was especially notable because the city borders Russia’s Far East and specifically advised travelers arriving from plague-endemic Russian regions to monitor for symptoms.