The White House is now scrutinizing the case of the death of a 28-year-old employee at an anti-malaria institute in Siberia, which has led to quarantines and increased mobilization by Russian health authorities. A Trump administration official told Axios that Washington is aware of reports regarding a possible case of plague in Russia, is monitoring developments, and is “evaluating its options.”
Russian health authorities have taken precautionary measures following the death of the woman, who worked at a plague research facility, though they have not officially confirmed that she had contracted the disease.
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Background of the case
An alarm has been raised in Russia following the death of a 28-year-old woman who worked at a specialized plague laboratory, with Russian authorities placing nearly 200 people in quarantine and under medical observation amid fears of a potential outbreak.
According to the New York Post, it all began in the city of Irkutsk, where laboratory assistant Daria Shipilova died after a serious illness. According to reports cited by the newspaper, the 28-year-old worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute and is believed to have come into contact with live bacteria.
In the Irkutsk region, an employee of the Anti-Plague Research Institute died of the plague. About two hundred people were placed under quarantine
On the night of October 2, 28-year-old Daria Shipilova, an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, died at a hospital in the city of Shelekhov. She studied infectious diseases and spoke at conferences in the field.
AdvertisementAccording to the publication “People of Lake Baikal,” the lab technician accidentally broke a test tube containing the pathogen that causes pneumonic plague in the laboratory, after which she began to show symptoms. She was hospitalized with pneumonia and placed on a ventilator, but she died on the night of October 2. The head of Buryatia subsequently confirmed the cause of death.
A source at REN TV reported that nearly 200 people had come into contact with the patient, 189 of whom were hospitalized for observation: 114 are in one hospital, 63 in another, and 12 more at the Anti-Plague Research Institute.
Here they are, from left to right: War, Plague, Famine, Death.
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The authorities responded immediately. The hospital was placed under quarantine, people who had come into contact with the young employee were placed under observation, while the head of the Russian public health service, Anna Popova, rushed from Moscow to Irkutsk, traveling a distance of approximately 4,200 kilometers. So far, however, authorities assure that none of the individuals identified as close contacts of the 28-year-old have shown any symptoms, and their lab tests have come back negative.
The theory about the broken test tube
According to the Russian media outlet Lyudi Baikala, Daria Shipilova reportedly told doctors that while she was working, she accidentally broke a test tube containing live bacteria. The young woman began showing the first symptoms while she was on an assignment with other employees near Russia’s eastern border with Mongolia. On Tuesday, she was admitted to a hospital in Selechov with symptoms of severe pneumonia. Her condition worsened; she had to be intubated and ultimately died two days later, on Thursday.
The incident prompted a major mobilization of health services, while the Russian political channel Nezygar compared the events in Selechov to the early stages of the health crisis in Wuhan. “The situation in Selechov, in the Irkutsk region, where a quarantine has been declared due to the plague, is reminiscent of the case in Wuhan,” the channel reported. So far, however, there is no evidence of widespread transmission of the disease.
Authorities are avoiding naming the disease
At the same time, it is noteworthy that the region’s governor, Igor Kobzev, avoided specifically mentioning the plague in his public statements. Instead, he spoke of a “dangerous infectious disease,” while public events in the region were canceled.
After his meeting with Anna Popova, Kombzev attempted to reassure residents. “All individuals identified as close contacts have been placed under medical observation. To date, the close contacts show no signs of illness, and their lab test results are negative,” he stated in a post on Telegram.
Popova, for her part, has not made a public statement regarding the reports of the plague. Meanwhile, according to media reports, residents’ concerns have led to increased demand for medications, with reports of antibiotic shortages even in the Irkutsk region.
Epidemiologist Questions the Accident Theory
Russian epidemiologist Mikhail Favorov raised questions about the circumstances under which the 28-year-old woman became infected, who disputed the theory that the infection resulted simply from a broken test tube. As he argued, an employee at a specialized laboratory of this kind wears special protective gear, and therefore such an incident would not necessarily result in infection.
“Someone working at the Irkutsk Antiviral Institute wears a protective suit. If a test tube breaks, the likelihood of infection is actually very small,” he said. He hinted that not all the details of the case may be being made public, while noting that Popova’s presence in the area itself indicates that the authorities are treating the incident with particular seriousness.
“They’re not going to tell us what really happened,” he claimed. His statements are his own assessment, and so far no evidence has been presented to substantiate the claim that Russian authorities are withholding information about the case.
Plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which is found primarily in small mammals and the fleas that parasitize them. There are three main forms of the disease: bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic plague. Symptoms may include high fever, chills, severe weakness, and headache, while the pneumonic form may be accompanied by cough and shortness of breath.
The plague is historically associated with the “Black Death,” the devastating pandemic that swept through Europe, Asia, and North Africa in the mid-14th century and is estimated to have caused the deaths of tens of millions of people. Today, however, the disease can be effectively treated with antibiotics, especially when treatment is started early.
Source: Protothema.gr
