Russia plague scare: Nearly 200 face quarantine after lab worker dies

A suspected plague case in Russia’s Siberian region has triggered quarantine and contact-tracing measures after a laboratory worker died from severe pneumonia. However, health authorities have not confirmed plague as the cause of her death.

Darya Shipilova, 28, a technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, was hospitalised on September 29 and placed on a ventilator before dying two days later. Media reports claimed she had accidentally broken a test tube containing live Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague.

However, Russia’s public health agency Rospotrebnadzor said there was no reported accident involving pathogenic microorganisms at the institute and that samples from Shipilova showed no microorganisms linked to her professional work.

197 People Under Observation

At least 197 people who may have come into contact with Shipilova have reportedly been placed under medical observation, including more than 100 in hospitals. Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said none of the identified contacts had developed symptoms and laboratory tests were negative.

Several hospitals in the region have also introduced precautionary quarantine measures.

Plague Not Confirmed

Rospotrebnadzor has described Shipilova’s illness as “pneumonia of unknown cause” and said the epidemiological situation in Irkutsk and Shelekhov remains stable.

Media reports have raised concerns about possible pneumonic plague, which can spread through respiratory droplets. However, there is currently no officially confirmed plague outbreak or human-to-human transmission in Russia.

Authorities are investigating the cause of Shipilova’s death while monitoring those who may have been exposed.