Russian plague: Lab worker dies from pneumonic illness as 200 people put into observation

Almost 200 Russians remain under medical observation after the death of a lab worker has sparked fears of an outbreak of a plague closely resembling the “Black Death” that wiped out swathes of Europe almost 700 years ago.

Russian authorities have yet to confirm the cause of death of the 28-year-old lab worker, but local media are reporting that Daria Shipilova, a researcher at an anti-plague institute in the Siberia region, may have been exposed to pneumonic plague.

The country’s consumer welfare service confirmed on Sunday that Shipilova had died of “pneumonia of unknown etiology”.

Despite reports that the infection situation in the Irkutsk region had since been rendered “stable”, it’s understood that five hospitals and a college have been reportedly put into lockdown with patients unable to leave. One of the facilities in lockdown is a children’s hospital, according to Metro.

The lockdown also means almost 200 people who had been in contact with Shipilova have been put under precautionary medical observation, NBC reports.

A regional mayor in the city of Shelekhov, which is located near the Mongolian border, said the inpatient facility where Shipilova initially received medical attention has also been placed under quarantine.

Governor Igor Kobzev said on October 2 that there was a “particularly dangerous infection” but the “situation is under strict control.”

There have been conflicting reports on the source of Shipilova’s infection and the restricted amount of information coming out of the area.

Some local media have reported that she was infected on a hike in the border region but others have linked her illness to reports that she broke “a test tube containing a pathogen” at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute.

Local media outlet People of Baikal reported a source in the area stating that doctors were “already openly talking about plague”.

The World Health Organisation ranks the pneumonic plague as the most virulent and severe form of infection caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, the same bacteria that caused the Black Death.

WHO also denotes pneumonic plague as the only form of plague that can spread directly from person to person through respiratory particles, making it capable of triggering severe epidemics.

While the Kremlin is yet to comment on the reports the US State Department has demanded more transparency from Moscow on the situation.

“Many details have not been confirmed,” the department said in a statement to multiple media outlets. “We encourage Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly.”

The State Department confirmed it was monitoring the situation with the Centers for Disease control and a number of other health authorities.

Former White House COVID-19 response co-ordinator Dr Ashish Jha also told NBC it was crucial that the Kremlin came clean on the situation as soon as possible.

“If there were weapons programs, biological weapons programs in these labs, that would be much more concerning to me,” he said. “We need to understand that now.”