RUSSIA PLAGUE SCARE: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
A mysterious death at Russia’s Anti Plague Institute in Siberia has triggered mass quarantines, conflicting official accounts and apparent efforts to restrict information.
Here is what we know:
• Darya Shipilova, 28, a laboratory technician at the Irkutsk Anti Plague Institute, developed severe pneumonia and died overnight on 1 to 2 October.
• The head of neighboring Buryatia publicly said she had died “possibly from the plague,” while stressing that the diagnosis had not been confirmed.
• Local reporting claimed Shipilova may have been exposed to Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, while working in the laboratory. Russian federal authorities deny there was any laboratory accident.
• Nearly 200 contacts were identified. 189 were reportedly hospitalized for observation, while several hospitals were placed under quarantine.
• A major aluminum plant in Shelekhov introduced a mask mandate amid contradictory information surrounding the incident.
• Authorities in Baikalsk posted a warning telling residents to limit travel to Shelekhov. The warning was deleted roughly 2 hours later.
• Russian media outlet REN TV also removed reporting related to the incident.
• Moscow now says Shipilova died from “pneumonia of unknown etiology” and says testing found no pathogen connected to her laboratory work.
• No secondary plague cases have been confirmed. Tests among monitored contacts instead detected 2 COVID 19 cases and 2 rhinovirus cases.
WHY THIS MATTERS:
Pneumonic plague is the most dangerous form of plague. Unlike the more familiar bubonic form, pneumonic plague infects the lungs and can spread directly between people through respiratory droplets during close contact.
Without prompt antibiotic treatment, it can progress rapidly and is frequently fatal. The WHO says untreated pneumonic plague can be fatal within 18 to 24 hours after infection.
That makes any suspected case involving a worker at an anti plague laboratory particularly important to investigate and monitor.
The U.S. government is monitoring the situation and has called on Russia to provide accurate information.
BOTTOM LINE: Russia denies this was plague or a laboratory accident, and there are currently no confirmed secondary plague cases.
But the scale of the quarantine response, conflicting official statements and deletion of public warnings and media reports make the situation worth closely following.
www.who.int
It is claimed that the number of quarantined hospitals in Irkutsk has increased to 5
A mysterious death at Russia’s Anti Plague Institute in Siberia has triggered mass quarantines, conflicting official accounts and apparent efforts to restrict information.
Here is what we know:
• Darya Shipilova, 28, a laboratory technician at the Irkutsk Anti Plague Institute, developed severe pneumonia and died overnight on 1 to 2 October.
• The head of neighboring Buryatia publicly said she had died “possibly from the plague,” while stressing that the diagnosis had not been confirmed.
• Local reporting claimed Shipilova may have been exposed to Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, while working in the laboratory. Russian federal authorities deny there was any laboratory accident.
• Nearly 200 contacts were identified. 189 were reportedly hospitalized for observation, while several hospitals were placed under quarantine.
• A major aluminum plant in Shelekhov introduced a mask mandate amid contradictory information surrounding the incident.
• Authorities in Baikalsk posted a warning telling residents to limit travel to Shelekhov. The warning was deleted roughly 2 hours later.
• Russian media outlet REN TV also removed reporting related to the incident.
• Moscow now says Shipilova died from “pneumonia of unknown etiology” and says testing found no pathogen connected to her laboratory work.
• No secondary plague cases have been confirmed. Tests among monitored contacts instead detected 2 COVID 19 cases and 2 rhinovirus cases.
WHY THIS MATTERS:
Pneumonic plague is the most dangerous form of plague. Unlike the more familiar bubonic form, pneumonic plague infects the lungs and can spread directly between people through respiratory droplets during close contact.
Without prompt antibiotic treatment, it can progress rapidly and is frequently fatal. The WHO says untreated pneumonic plague can be fatal within 18 to 24 hours after infection.
That makes any suspected case involving a worker at an anti plague laboratory particularly important to investigate and monitor.
The U.S. government is monitoring the situation and has called on Russia to provide accurate information.
BOTTOM LINE: Russia denies this was plague or a laboratory accident, and there are currently no confirmed secondary plague cases.
But the scale of the quarantine response, conflicting official statements and deletion of public warnings and media reports make the situation worth closely following.
Plague
Fact sheets on plague: key facts, signs and symptoms, diagnosing, treatment and prevention
It is claimed that the number of quarantined hospitals in Irkutsk has increased to 5
