A mysterious death inside Russia’s anti-plague research system has triggered a health scare, with nearly 200 people placed under medical observation and hospitals subjected to precautionary measures , even as authorities insist there is no confirmed case of plague.
A 28-year-old laboratory worker at Russia’s Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia, identified by local media as Darya Shipilova, died after developing severe pneumonia of unknown origin. Her death has raised fears of pneumonic plague because of her work at a facility that studies the disease.
The situation has become controversial because reports circulating after her death alleged that Shipilova may have been exposed to Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, after a laboratory accident involving a test tube. Rospotrebnadzor says expanded testing found no microorganisms linked to her professional activities and that investigators found no laboratory accident involving dangerous pathogens.
Despite the lack of a confirmed plague diagnosis, authorities have launched extensive precautionary measures. About 200 people who may have had contact with Shipilova have been placed under medical observation, while quarantine measures were introduced at the hospital where she was treated. Several other medical facilities in the region have also reportedly imposed restrictions.
Testing among those under observation has so far detected two cases of COVID-19 and two cases of rhinovirus, but authorities say no evidence of plague or another highly dangerous infection has been found among the contacts. The regional epidemiological situation has officially been described as stable.
The episode has nevertheless attracted international attention. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was monitoring reports surrounding the suspected plague case, while stressing that the situation was not currently a cause for alarm.
Pneumonic plague is a serious form of plague that affects the lungs and can spread through respiratory droplets. It can be fatal without prompt treatment, although antibiotics can successfully treat the infection when administered early.
For now, Russia has not confirmed that plague killed the researcher. But the death of a plague-laboratory worker, the quarantine measures and the monitoring of nearly 200 people have turned an unexplained pneumonia case into an international health concern.
