At least five hospitals have been shut and hundreds quarantined after a 28-year-old laboratory technician reportedly died of plague in the remote Siberian region of Irkutsk.
The incident occurred at the Anti-Plague Research Institute in Shelekhov and the technician, identified as Darya Shipilova, reportedly contracted pneumonic plague from a broken test tube.
She told medical staff that she had accidentally broken a test tube containing live bacteria while collecting samples for testing, according to local media reports.
She was reportedly hospitalised on September 29 with symptoms of severe pneumonia in Shelekhov, and was placed on a ventilator before she died on October 1.
Over 200 people with whom she may have had contact have now been put under quarantine.
Public events have also been reportedly cancelled in Irkutsk.
“Dangerous Infection”
Irkutsk region Governor Igor Kobzev said that a suspected case of a “particularly dangerous infection” has emerged, and urged the public to remain calm.
In a post on Telegram on October 2, he said he has met the chief of the consumer safety watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, to coordinate emergency containment measures.
“Rospotrebnadzor is implementing a full range of anti-epidemic measures,” he said.
“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,” he added.
Alexei Tsydenov, the governor of Russia’s Buryatia region, said in a social media post on October 2 that a woman in the neighbouring Irkutsk region had “possibly died of plague”. He also said that there are “no plague outbreaks” in his region.
Pneumonic plague is highly infectious and can be fatal if not treated early.