Lab worker dies, 200 quarantined, disease likely ‘fatal’: 5 things we know about ‘unknown plague’ in Russia

A laboratory technician in Russia’s Siberian region of Irkutsk has died in what officials and local media have described as a suspected case of pneumonic plague, while around 200 people, who may have come in contact with her, have reportedly been placed under quarantine.

Plague fears in Russia: Lab worker dies, 200 quarantined over suspected infection (Representative image/Unsplash)The 28-year-old woman, identified by local media as Darya Shipilova, worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute and may have contracted the infection after a test tube broke at the facility, reported news agency AFP.

Rospotrebnadzor, the country's federal agency overseeing infectious diseases, described the case as “pneumonia of unknown aetiology.”

The disease is caused by bacteria and can be fatal if treatment is not started early. Pneumonic plague is also highly infectious, reported AFP citing World Health Organization.

However, it remains unclear whether the Irkutsk case was actually caused by the plague bacterium.

Rospotrebnadzor has not publicly confirmed that the woman died of plague. Instead, it said she was diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown aetiology”, meaning that the cause had not been identified.

According to CNN, the agency said that “the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region, the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov is stable”.

It also said specialised protocols had been introduced “in connection with the case of an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute”.

Following an emergency meeting of the local anti-epidemic council with Russia’s chief state sanitary doctor, Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev appealed to residents to remain calm on Friday. According to CNN, Kobzev said the meeting was held over a “suspected case of a particularly dangerous infection affecting a resident of the region”.

Additional precautions have reportedly been introduced around Shelekhov, near the research centre.

An industrial aluminium facility in the area has asked its personnel to wear face coverings, reported CNN.

Artem Fominikh, head of the Irkutsk Aluminium Plant, urged people not to panic, saying via CNN that “there are many rumours and conflicting reports circulating”.

The US State Department is monitoring the reports of a suspected fatal pneumonic plague case in Russia, according to a department official cited by Fox News.

The official said Washington was aware of the reported death in Irkutsk Oblast and was monitoring the situation with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal agencies.

The official also called on Russia to provide more precise information, noting that several details surrounding the case remained unverified.

Dan Hoffman, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer, said US intelligence agencies were likely collecting information from multiple sources.

“I would also expect our embassy in Moscow to be engaging with their diplomatic counterparts at an official level because we might have people in Russia who might be at risk,” Hoffman told Fox News.

“Washington will be speaking to all of our allies and partners in the region and sharing what we know.”

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