Plague outbreak in Russia? Hundreds quarantined after death of lab researcher

Amid growing concern over a suspected laboratory infection in Siberia, Russian authorities have placed hundreds of people under observation and imposed quarantine measures after a 28-year-old researcher died from severe pneumonia at plague laboratory.

Russian authorities have not confirmed that plague was involved. But reports that the woman may have been exposed to dangerous bacteria at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute have prompted hospitals to tighten precautions and officials to step up their response.

The case has also fuelled speculation about what happened inside the laboratory -- and whether Russian authorities are being fully transparent about it. The researcher, identified in reports as Darya Shipilova, was admitted to hospital on September 29 after developing severe pneumonia. She was placed on a ventilator but died two days later.

According to the Daily Mail, Shipilova had been working at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute and told medical staff that she had accidentally broken a test tube containing live bacteria. She became ill while on a field expedition in neighbouring Buryatia, close to Russia's border with Mongolia, before being transferred to Shelekhov Hospital.

Authorities moved quickly to trace people who may have had contact with the researcher.

Unofficial reports cited by CNN, including those from the independent regional outlet Liudi Baikala, said nearly 200 people were placed under quarantine at the Shelekhov hospital where Shipilova was treated. Three hospitals in the region were placed under quarantine measures, Daily Mail reported.

Officials have stressed that there is no evidence so far of a wider outbreak.

Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said all identified contacts were under medical supervision and that none had shown symptoms. Their laboratory test results were negative, he said. An aluminium plant near the laboratory also ordered employees to wear masks as a precaution, while its director urged residents not to be swayed by what he described as rumours and conflicting reports.THE PLAGUE QUESTION

The biggest question hanging over the case is whether the illness was actually caused by plague.

Alexei Tsydenov, head of neighbouring Buryatia, said the woman had died "possibly from the plague". But he also said there was no plague outbreak in Buryatia.

Rospotrebnadzor has not confirmed plague.

Gennady Onishchenko, a former head of the agency, told TASS that the infection was "most likely not the plague", according to CNN. He also said that even if plague were confirmed, colder weather would make transmission less likely.

That puts the official account at odds with the more alarming reports emerging around the incident.WHY THE LAB MATTERS

The location of the incident is what makes the case particularly sensitive.

The Irkutsk facility is an anti-plague research institute, a laboratory specifically associated with the study and monitoring of dangerous infectious diseases. That has led to questions about the reported broken test tube and whether the researcher could have been exposed while handling a dangerous pathogen.

Russian epidemiologist Mikhal Favorov questioned the explanation, according to Daily Mail, arguing that workers at such facilities use protective equipment. He reportedly dismissed the broken-test-tube explanation as unlikely and suggested that the public might never learn the full circumstances surrounding the infection.

Those comments have helped fuel claims of a possible cover-up.

An anonymous Russian political Telegram channel, Nezygar, even compared the episode with early disputes over the origins of Covid-19.

But those claims remain unverified.MOSCOW MOVES TO CONTAIN THE FALLOUT

Russian authorities have responded by bringing senior health officials into the investigation.

Russia's chief state sanitary doctor, Anna Popova, travelled from Moscow to Siberia to oversee the response. Kobzev said Popova took part in an emergency meeting of the regional sanitary and anti-epidemic commission after officials received information about a suspected case of a "particularly dangerous infectious disease".

The governor initially avoided naming the suspected disease.

Shelekhov Mayor Maxim Modin also urged residents to rely on official information and avoid spreading rumours, saying it was too early to draw final conclusions.advertisementWHAT PNEUMONIC PLAGUE WOULD MEANPneumonic plague is one of three forms of plague caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium. Unlike bubonic plague, which is usually associated with infected fleas, pneumonic plague affects the lungs and can spread between people through respiratory droplets.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms can include fever, headache, weakness, shortness of breath, chest pain and coughing. In severe cases, patients can cough up bloody or watery mucus.

The World Health Organisation says plague can have a high fatality rate if untreated but can be successfully treated with antibiotics when detected early.- Ends