White House Monitoring Suspected Plague Outbreak in Russia After Lab Technician Dies, 197 Isolated
- The White House is monitoring a suspected plague outbreak in Russia after a 28-year-old laboratory technician died
- The technician reportedly told medical staff she had accidentally broken a test tube containing live bacteria
- Social media users have weighed in on the story after nearly 200 people were also placed under medical observation
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Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.
RUSSIA — The White House is reportedly keeping a close watch on a suspected plague outbreak in Russia, following the death of a 28-year-old laboratory technician at an anti-plague research institute in Siberia.
Darya Shipilova, who worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Shelekhov, near the city of Irkutsk, was admitted to hospital on 29 September after developing severe pneumonia. She was placed on a ventilator and died two days later.
Conflicting accounts of how Shipilova fell ill
The circumstances surrounding her illness remain disputed. Shipilova reportedly told medical staff that she had accidentally broken a test tube containing live bacteria while working at the institute.
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Some reports indicate she became ill during a field expedition in neighbouring Buryatia, close to Russia's border with Mongolia, before being transferred to hospital in Shelekhov. Separate accounts suggest she had returned from Thailand before her hospitalisation.
Russia's public-health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, has directly contradicted the broken test tube account, stating that no accident involving pathogenic microorganisms took place at the facility and that no microorganisms linked to her professional work were found in her body. The agency classified her death as pneumonia of unknown cause and described the epidemiological situation in Irkutsk and Shelekhov as stable.
Quarantine measures rolled out across Irkutsk
Despite official assurances, authorities moved swiftly to contain any potential spread. As of 2 October, 197 people who may have come into contact with Shipilova had been placed under quarantine or medical observation. Rospotrebnadzor said none of those under observation had shown signs of illness.
Several hospitals in Irkutsk introduced three-week quarantine measures. The Shelekhov district hospital, where Shipilova died, imposed restrictions on admissions and discharges in certain departments.
Employees at the nearby Irkutsk Aluminium Plant in Shelekhov were ordered to wear masks from 3 October. The plant's director described the measure as a precaution rather than a response to a confirmed outbreak.
How did social media users react?
Social media users reacted with a mixture of scepticism and alarm following several reports surfacing on social media.
@SgtPLo444 wrote:
"So she was exposed to the contents of a broken vial but was then allowed to have contact with 200 people? She wasn't immediately quarantined and put on antibiotics? This story doesn't make sense."
@JennaDoes360 commented:
"Start of COVID 2.0? This time the plague is causing pneumonia? Let me guess—a new vaccine is already ready."
@joeybeastmarket quipped:
"Diseases always seem to get inadvertently released from the institute for preventing this disease to be released from this institute."
@allcasinoaction asked:
"Wait, don't antibiotics cure plague? Or is this some kind of super plague, or did she not know she had it until it was too late?"
@GVG_Design stated:
"Pandemic 2.0."
Other stories about outbreaks that caused concern online
Briefly News also reported on other outbreaks in Africa that caused concern.
- An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province had left people deeply concerned on social media.
- The Eastern Cape Health Department has shut down claims that there is an outbreak of hantavirus at a hospital in the province.
- South African poet and activist Ntsiki Mazwai is on high alert following the recent reports of a malaria outbreak in Gauteng.
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Source: Briefly News
