A 28-year-old laboratory technician at Russia’s Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia has died after developing severe pneumonia.
Nearly 200 people who may have had contact with her have been quarantined as local reports claim she accidentally broke a test tube containing live Yersinia pestis.
Yersinia pestis is a bacterium that causes plague. It was responsible for the Black Death (1347-1351), which is one of the deadliest pandemics in human history. About 30-60% of Europe’s population died. 
Russian federal authorities, however, insist that the current situation remains stable, as the incident is still unconfirmed as plague.
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Pneumonic Plague vs COVID-19
Although no pathogens linked to the lab technician’s work were found, a comparison is now circulating that pneumonic plague is roughly 100 times deadlier than COVID-19. This is not exaggerated, because the numbers hold up when you look at untreated cases.
Pneumonic Plague Has a 100% Fatality Rate
A 2020 publication from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) reports that almost everyone who gets pneumonic plague dies when it’s not treated quickly . Death can occur within days and, in severe cases, within 18-24 hours of symptom onset. This means if 100 people get infected, all 100 people will die.
Fatality falls to around 17% in modern meta-analyses if it is treated early with antibiotics (ideally within the first 24 hours of symptoms). This means only about 17 out of 100 might still die.
COVID-19 Only Has a 1% Fatality Rate
In another 2024 publication from the NLM, out of every 100 people who got sick with COVID, usually only about one person died. In some cases, it was a bit higher—maybe 2 or 3 out of 100, especially early on or among older people.
Hence, in plain terms, an untreated case of pneumonic plague carries a risk of death roughly two orders of magnitude higher than a typical COVID-19 infection. Hence, the “100x deadlier” claim is directionally accurate for the untreated disease.
Transmission and Speed
Like COVID, pneumonic plague spreads person-to-person through respiratory droplets. The difference is tempo.
For pneumonic plague, symptoms can appear in 1-3 days, and once the lungs are involved, the disease often progresses with brutal speed.
COVID usually offered a wider spectrum of outcomes and more time. That is why Russian authorities moved quickly to isolate people around the deceased technician.
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The Good News About the Plague: Treatment
Ironically, provided the diagnosis is made in time, the pneumonic plague is far more treatable with existing drugs. This is because it is a bacterial illness.
COVID, on the other hand, is viral; antivirals and supportive care help, but there is no equivalent simple antibiotic that converts a near-certain death sentence into a survivable illness for most patients.
A single lab accident involving plague therefore draws outsized attention. The pathogen is far more lethal per untreated case than COVID ever was, yet it is also far more stoppable
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