Political Picture · international

Filed by Deacon Rift

Six months after a hantavirus outbreak threatened international spread, and amid a stubbornly persistent Ebola emergency, reports that a Russian laboratory worker may have died from pneumonic plague offer another stark warning. Deadly pathogens recognize no borders, yet the international cooperation needed to contain them is fractured by geopolitical rivalries, mistrust, and failures of transparency. Russian officials have downplayed reports that pneumonic…