On October 2, 2026, a 28-year-old female staff member working on plague research at the Siberian and Far Eastern Institute for Plague Control in Irkutsk, Russia, died from severe pneumonia. Initial online rumors linked the incident to a plague exposure caused by a broken test tube in the laboratory, sparking widespread public concern about the spread of plague.
Following the incident, Russian authorities immediately placed approximately 200 close contacts under medical observation and temporarily closed the institute and several local hospitals. Nearly 5,000 samples were tested, and no high-risk pathogens such as plague were detected. The official diagnosis was ultimately "pneumonia of unknown cause." All isolation measures were lifted on October 8. The World Health Organization (WHO) simultaneously assessed the incident and determined that the public health risk was low.

What is plague?

Plague is a Class A notifiable infectious disease in China, caused by Yersinia pestis. Typical symptoms include sudden onset of high fever above 39 °C , severe localized lymphadenopathy, and in severe cases, rapid onset of hemoptysis and widespread skin ecchymosis and necrosis, historically known as the "Black Death".

First, clarify: the transmission and fatal risks of plague.

According to authoritative public health data, plague is mainly divided into three categories: bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, and septicemic plague.

· Bubonic plague is transmitted through the bite of infected fleas, and the mortality rate can reach 30%-60% without timely intervention.

· Pneumonic plague can be transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets. The incubation period is only 1-6 days. It has a rapid onset and progression, and if not treated promptly, the mortality rate is close to 100%.

· Yersinia pestis itself does not produce spores, and can be effectively inactivated by medium to high levels of disinfection. Ultraviolet irradiation in the 253.7nm band is a recognized highly efficient disinfection method with no chemical residues and no secondary pollution, which can quickly cut off the transmission chain of pathogens in the environment.

National standard-level core capabilities enable the creation of compliant disinfection products.

As a drafter of multiple national industry standards, LIGHTBEST has been deeply involved in the field of ultraviolet disinfection for many years. Its full range of UV mercury lamps covers the entire power range from 1W to 1000W low-pressure lamps and 400W to 20KW medium-pressure lamps, precisely outputting the core bactericidal wavelength of 253.7nm, which can quickly destroy the genetic material structure of Yersinia pestis, achieving highly efficient inactivation.
Our partner factories hold complete hygiene licenses for the production of disinfection products, and all products have completed official registration, fully complying with the disinfection equipment procurement standards for professional scenarios such as disease control centers, medical institutions, and transportation ports, ensuring the disinfection effect and safety of the products from the source.

Adaptable to all scenarios, covering various needs of plague prevention and control.

To address the diverse needs of different epidemic prevention and control scenarios, LIGHTBEST has developed a complete matrix of UV disinfection products:

· Large public areas such as port quarantine stations and transportation hubs: High-power mobile UV disinfection vehicles support remote control and timed start and stop. Personnel can complete the operation without entering the disinfection space, avoiding the risk of exposure during the disinfection process, and quickly covering the air and surface disinfection of open spaces such as waiting halls and customs halls.

· For core applications such as medical institutions and plague testing laboratories: professional UV mercury lamps equipped with intelligent electronic ballasts support both instant start and delayed start modes, reducing the impact of current on the lamp tube and extending its service life by 30% compared to ordinary lamp tubes. They can be stably adapted to daily environmental disinfection in laboratories, completely avoiding cross-infection between samples and the environment.

· In everyday settings such as communities, offices, and homes: UV disinfection lamp components can be installed in air conditioning ducts, balancing convenience and safety for daily protection, helping ordinary users establish a regular home protection barrier.

Scientific prevention and control, safeguarding public health with professional technology

Plague prevention and control has never been about panicking and applying a "one-size-fits-all" approach, but rather about building a multi-layered protective network using scientific methods. Changzhou LIGHTBEST , as a drafting unit for the national standards for ultraviolet germicidal lamps, ship ballast water management systems, and ship drinking water treatment in China, as well as the group standard for "Ultraviolet Germicidal Lamps for Schools" in China, and a member unit of the Jiangsu Provincial Water Purification Association, not only provides standardized UV disinfection products but also customized disinfection solutions for various organizations. From lamp selection and power layout to operational specifications, we provide comprehensive technical guidance throughout the entire process, helping everyone achieve thorough disinfection and zero operational risks in daily prevention and control. To
prevent imported cases and domestic resurgence, we are committed to leveraging our nationally recognized technical expertise and fully compliant product system, working with all public health professionals to build a solid health and safety defense line for the public using professional ultraviolet disinfection technology.