Lab Worker’s Suspected Plague Death in Siberia Triggers Quarantine and Contact Tracing

A laboratory worker has died in Russia’s Irkutsk region from what officials say was an unspecified form of plague, triggering quarantine measures, the isolation of nearly 200 contacts and the cancellation of public events.

The woman, identified by regional media as Daria Shipilova, 28, a laboratory assistant at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, died overnight in a hospital in the town of Shelekhov. She was admitted on Tuesday with severe pneumonia, placed on a ventilator and died two days later, according to regional reports.

The Shelekhov district hospital was placed under quarantine, with no new patients admitted or discharged. At least 197 people who had contact with the deceased have been placed under medical observation, according to The Moscow Times. Irkutsk region governor Igor Kobzev said none of the contacts shows signs of illness and their laboratory test results have so far come back negative.

Officials ordered the full range of anti-epidemic measures. Alexei Tsydenov, head of the neighbouring republic of Buryatia, confirmed the woman had died of an unspecified form of plague, but added that no plague outbreaks were reported in his republic.

Some regional outlets reported that the worker had accidentally broken a test tube containing live bacteria, but that account has not been officially confirmed, and Russia’s federal health authorities have not yet detailed how she became infected. The governor urged the public to remain calm while an investigation into compliance with health and safety regulations is under way.

Sources

• Brit Brief
• New York Post
• UNILAD