A laboratory worker’s death in Siberia has prompted quarantine and observation of nearly 200 contacts amid unconfirmed reports of pneumonic plague, even as Russian authorities say tests have found no evidence of the disease and no secondary cases.
Darya Shipilova, 28, a technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East in Shelekhov, was admitted to the local district hospital with severe pneumonia around September 29 and died on October 1 or 2. Independent regional reporting, including from Liudi Baikala, alleged that she had broken a test tube containing live Yersinia pestis while handling samples and developed pneumonic plague, the form of the infection that can spread between people through respiratory droplets. Alexey Tsydenov, head of the neighboring republic of Buryatia, said she may have died of plague, while stressing there were no reported cases in his region.
Russia’s health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, has rejected that account. It described the cause of death as “pneumonia of unknown aetiology,” said extensive testing found no microorganisms linked to her work, and reported no laboratory accident involving pathogens. Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said all identified contacts had been placed under medical observation, showed no signs of illness, and tested negative; some contact tests reportedly detected COVID-19 and rhinovirus instead. Former Rospotrebnadzor head Gennady Onishchenko also said the illness was likely not plague. Several Irkutsk hospitals later denied social-media claims that they had been closed for a multi-week plague quarantine.
Containment steps have still been extensive. About 197 people were placed under observation, most of them in hospital, including a facility previously used for COVID-19 patients. The Shelekhov hospital inpatient ward was restricted, public events were postponed, and the nearby Irkutsk Aluminium Smelter introduced masks for more than 2,000 workers. Rospotrebnadzor chief Anna Popova traveled to the region. The European Commission said it was monitoring the situation closely with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and the U.S. State Department said it was tracking reports of a suspected fatal case with the CDC. Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan have tightened sanitary controls at borders with Russia.
Pneumonic plague is treatable with antibiotics if caught early, but untreated cases are often fatal and can transmit person to person—unlike the more common bubonic form, which is typically flea-borne. No confirmed secondary plague infections have been reported as of October 5, and officials describe the situation in Irkutsk and Shelekhov as stable. The gap between local allegations and the official denial has left the exact cause of death unresolved.
SOURCES:
Dozens quarantined in Siberia after plague institute lab worker dies | Reuters
bne IntelliNews – Russia’s Irkutsk hospitals deny plague quarantine reports
Dozens quarantined after researcher at Russian plague laboratory dies of ‘unknown’ infection | CNN
bne IntelliNews – Black Death hits Russia. It never really went away.
Nearly 200 people isolated after lab worker in Russia dies of plague | New Scientist
Putin’s Plague Mystery Deepens as Russia Scrambles to Contain Fallout
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