Infectious disease expert says plague not major concern in Ozarks

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Word of a potential plague outbreak in Russia this week has stirred fears about what could happen if it were to reach the United States.

A 28-year-old lab researcher in Siberia reportedly died last week after being exposed to pneumonic plague, prompting local hospitals there to quarantine.

KY3 reached out to Mercy Hospital in Springfield about what would happen if the plague were to reach the Ozarks. An expert on infectious diseases there said it would not be alarming.

“Pneumonic plague always brings fear because of the word plague in that,” said Dr. Julio Nasim, an expert on infectious diseases. “But again, it is not what it used to be. We have great antibiotics. Modern medicine has advanced a lot is not what happened in Europe in the middle of the Middle Ages. And God forbid, there’s someone with the plague. We have multiple antivirals that can absolutely help a patient. So, like, they don’t die from this.”

Both the U.S. and the World Health Organization have asked Russia for more information about the potential outbreak.

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