Plague concerns spur unproven cure kits online

Social media influencers and doomsday “preppers” are promoting unproven plague treatment kits online after concern spread over an unconfirmed possible plague death in Russia.

Russia has not confirmed that a woman employed at a plague research institute in the Irkutsk region died from the disease. The regional governor said Thursday that no health issues were detected after all of her contacts were traced.

Some posts promoted a $300 kit claimed to help people avoid emergency room visits. One Facebook video using hashtags including Russia and plague had been viewed more than 161,000 times. Several posts included personalised discount codes.

The Wellness Company brand promoted in many of the videos saw a rise in online searches, according to Google Trends data. The company, fronted by American cardiologist Peter McCullough, did not immediately respond to questions about the kits.

Rogan O'Handley, known online as DC Draino, highlighted the kit's inclusion of doxycycline to his 2.9 million followers. Doxycycline is among antibiotics used to treat plague in countries that see cases each year.

Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto General Hospital, said plague can be severe but is treatable. He warned against taking antibiotics without known exposure and said the unconfirmed Russian case was not the type of infection that would cause a pandemic.

Paul Keim, a plague researcher and professor at Northern Arizona University, said there was no reason for people in North America to start taking doxycycline. He warned that unnecessary antibiotic use can alter gut bacteria and help create antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Keim also said ivermectin is not used for bacterial disease. The anti-parasitic drug is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat worm diseases.

Timothy Caulfield, a misinformation expert and professor at the University of Alberta, said people selling unproven products often exploit fear and uncertainty during health crises.