A 28-year-old worker at the Irkutsk anti-plague institute died on 2 October. Russian authorities say the cause was pneumonia of unknown origin and have not confirmed a laboratory pathogen, while the WHO says the public-health risk appears low.
Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, died on the night of 2 October at a hospital in Shelekhov, about 20 kilometres from Irkutsk, after developing severe pneumonia.
Russia's consumer-health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said she died of pneumonia of unknown aetiology and that investigators had not established a laboratory accident or a work-related pathogen. The institute researches plague control and other dangerous infections.
Alexey Tsydenov, head of neighbouring Buryatia, first wrote that a woman in Irkutsk had died of plague, then edited the post to say she had possibly died of the disease. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was monitoring the case and did not see cause for alarm, while calling it a reason to keep watch.
The World Health Organization said it was assessing available information and that, on unofficial information, the public-health risk to the general population appeared low. CBC News reported that a confirmed diagnosis had not been published.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that staff had been kept at the institute since 2 October and that some Irkutsk hospitals were under quarantine. Those containment details have not been confirmed in a Russian official statement cited here.
People Sentiments Negative
- Marco Rubio said the case was cause for focus, not alarm.
- Rospotrebnadzor said there was no established link to a laboratory pathogen.
- A neighbouring regional leader first claimed plague, then qualified the claim.