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Russia says no plague cases detected among contacts of deceased lab worker
Confirmed
In Short: A 28-year-old laboratory worker died in Irkutsk, Russia, raising concerns about a potential plague outbreak.
Russian officials have not confirmed that a 28-year-old laboratory worker, identified as Darya Shipilova, died from plague, despite initial speculation.
The Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, where Shipilova worked, has not linked her death to her work or plague.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Russia has reported no plague cases in the city of Irkutsk.
However, the WHO is awaiting confirmation from Russian officials about the pneumonia-causing pathogen that led to Shipilova's death.
Reuters could not establish whether this means plague can be ruled out in Shipilova's case.
The WHO said Russian health officials informed them that no case of plague has been recorded in Irkutsk.
Testing of Shipilova's close contacts, about 60% of whom have been tested so far, has identified two cases of COVID-19 and two cases of rhinovirus infection, but no other infectious diseases.
The Irkutsk regional branch of Rospotrebnadzor denied reports of enhanced sanitary-epidemiological measures and strict restrictions in the region, stating the situation remains stable.
Independent news outlets have reported that Shipilova died from pneumonic plague, but there is no official confirmation.
The WHO and other health organizations are urging Russia for more transparency regarding the case.
US President Donald Trump offered to help Moscow deal with the situation, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that a potential outbreak could spread quickly.
The Irkutsk regional governor, Igor Kobsev, said no microorganisms linked to Shipilova's professional activities were detected in her body.
What's confirmed
- Russian officials have not confirmed that a 28-year-old laboratory worker, identified as Darya Shipilova, died from plague, despite initial speculation.
- The Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, where Shipilova worked, has not linked her death to her work or plague.
- According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Russia has reported no plague cases in the city of Irkutsk.
- However, the WHO is awaiting confirmation from Russian officials about the pneumonia-causing pathogen that led to Shipilova's death.
- Reuters could not establish whether this means plague can be ruled out in Shipilova's case.
- The WHO said Russian health officials informed them that no case of plague has been recorded in Irkutsk.
- Testing of Shipilova's close contacts, about 60% of whom have been tested so far, has identified two cases of COVID-19 and two cases of rhinovirus infection, but no other infectious diseases.
- The Irkutsk regional branch of Rospotrebnadzor denied reports of enhanced sanitary-epidemiological measures and strict restrictions in the region, stating the situation remains stable.
- Independent news outlets have reported that Shipilova died from pneumonic plague, but there is no official confirmation.
- The WHO and other health organizations are urging Russia for more transparency regarding the case.
- US President Donald Trump offered to help Moscow deal with the situation, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that a potential outbreak could spread quickly.
- The Irkutsk regional governor, Igor Kobsev, said no microorganisms linked to Shipilova's professional activities were detected in her body.
What's still developing
- Plague is endemic in many African countries, the former Soviet Union, the Americas and Asia, but most human cases in the last six years were reported from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar, according to the World Health Organization.
- “According to the authorities, the woman’s illness initially presented as a typical acute respiratory viral infection,” it said.
- On Friday, Maksim Modin, mayor of the Shelekhov municipal district near the border with Mongolia, said that the inpatient facility where the worker is said to have been treated had been closed for quarantine.
- Russian media cited officials saying that nearly 200 people who had been in contact with the woman had been placed under precautionary medical observation.
- “Rospotrebnadzor provides comprehensive information,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when reporters pressed him about rumors spreading amid sparse official statements.
- How a surge in ancient plagues 5000 years ago shaped humanity “Plague is not a historical disease,” Zania Stamataki at the University of Birmingham in the UK said in a statement.
- The term “plague” usually refers to ill health caused by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis, although there is no official confirmation the woman’s death was due to this pathogen.