Global Disease Data Tracker

Track current disease outbreaks across the US and around the world. Live case counts, interactive maps, travel health alerts, and outbreak news pulled from the CDC, WHO, FDA and local health departments. Updated every few hours and always free.

A worker at Russia's Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia died on October 2, 2026 after being hospitalized with pneumonia of unknown cause, prompting concern about pneumonic plague. It is not confirmed: Russian authorities told the WHO that no plague was detected in the region and that the roughly 200 monitored contacts tested negative for high-threat pathogens (several had COVID-19 or a common cold) and have been cleared. The WHO, which assesses the public-health risk to the general population as low, and the US, which has filed a formal diplomatic complaint over Russia's limited communication, are seeking more details; the CDC says it is closely monitoring. As of mid-October the cause of death has still not been established; Russia has dismissed reports of a second infected employee as false, and several infectious-disease experts say the picture does not clearly fit plague. Even if plague were confirmed, pneumonic plague does not spread easily and is treatable with antibiotics when caught early. There is no evidence of spread and no risk to the US public at this time.