On Friday, September 25, 28-year-old lab technician Daria Shipilova reportedly broke a vial while working in Russia’s Anti-Plague Institute in Irkutsk province, Siberia, News.com.au reports.
It supposedly contained a sample of the pneumonic plague. This is the most contagious form of plague. The bacterium can be carried by moisture droplets in the air, such as from a cough or sneeze. It can survive several days on an exposed surface.
Ms Shipilova was admitted to hospital on September 29, suffering from severe pneumonia. She was put on a ventilator machine.
On Friday, October 2, the lab technician died. Russia’s public health service overnight conceded that a lab technician from the research facility has died. But not of the plague. It was a “pneumonia of undetermined origin”.
But public confusion and concern have already reached pandemic proportions. Reports of a potential outbreak were leapt upon by the officially banned local news service The People of Baikal. The Kremlin has declared it to be an “agent of foreign influence”.
It reported on Friday that a district hospital and a children’s hospital had been “closed for quarantine”, with doctors “already openly talking about plague”. It added residents of the town of Shelekhov were watching officials in full protective suits, gloves and masks walk the streets. And that FSB units (domestic counterintelligence agency) had begun escorting ambulances.
Public pressure soon prompted Shelekhov town mayor Maxim Modin to take to social media. “I see many requests and messages from district residents about the quarantine at the Shelekhovsky District Hospital,” he stated. “Indeed, since yesterday, discharges and admissions of patients from several departments of the facility have been suspended.” He added more details were to come … “after lunch”.
Three hours later, he confirmed: “The hospital is indeed closed for quarantine”. While the outpatient clinic was continuing to operate, all laboratory tests had been “suspended”. The state-controlled REN TV service then detailed that 197 people had been in close contact with the dead woman. And all but eight had been put under medical isolation in hospital or at the plague institute itself.
This news article was soon removed. As was a social media alert from the nearby city of Baykalsk warning its residents not to travel to Shelekhov.
Russia’s federal public health and consumer protection agency, Rospotrebnadzor, last night confirmed it had initiated “special measures … in connection with the case of an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute”. It has not issued a formal statement.
But, according to the state-run TASS news service, an official spokesperson denied that Ms Shipilova was involved in an industrial accident or died of the plague. Instead, she had died of “pneumonia of undetermined origin”.
Rospotrebnadzor investigators reportedly said no incident involving pathogens had occurred at the institute, and no staff members had developed symptoms. This follows an earlier statement by former Rospotrebnadzor chief and epidemiologist at the Russian Academy of Sciences Gennady Onishchenko. On Friday, he proclaimed any infection was “likely not plague”.
“Even if confirmed, there will be no spread of this disease,” he added. But that same day, Irkutsk governor Igor Kobzev was worried enough to convene an emergency meeting with Russia’s chief epidemiologist (and current Rospotrebnadzor chief), Dr Anna Popova.
This was in response to a “suspected case of a particularly dangerous infection affecting a resident of the region,” Governor Kobzev posted to Telegram.
“I inform you that all identified contacts have been placed under medical observation. As of today, the contacts show no signs of illness, and laboratory test results are negative.” Pneumonic plague is a fearsome disease.
It’s believed to have been behind the infamous Black Death of the 14th Century, which is estimated to have killed between 25 and 50 million people in Europe alone. It develops rapidly, causing symptoms such as fever, headache and weakness. But it chiefly attacks the lungs, causing shortness of breath, coughing and watery mucus. While it has a high fatality rate, the World Health Organisation says it can be easily and effectively treated with modern antibiotics. And its spread can be contained through patient isolation and protective equipment.
The Mash Telegram channel (a high-profile pro-Kremlin domestic security blogging site) has thrown another curveball into the mix.
It states Ms Shipilova recently returned from a working trip to the Russian republic of Buryatia and contracted the plague while at its border with Mongolia. Buryatia Governor Alexey Tsydenov felt compelled to respond yesterday. He confirmed to local media that a woman had died “possibly from plague” while denying the lab technician had visited his state. “The source of infection stems from circumstances unrelated to Buryatia,” he posted on the state-controlled VK social media platform.
“There are no plague outbreaks (in Buryatia).” Meanwhile, the residents of Shelekhov are still seeking certainty.
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on X
