Nearly 200 people have been quarantined and placed under medical observation after the death of a worker at a plague laboratory in Siberia, Russia. Russian media reported that the woman died of pneumonic plague, but health authorities have not yet confirmed that. Initial tests have found no evidence of a link between her death and the bacteria in the laboratory.
Daria Shipilova, 28, worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. She was hospitalized after falling ill on September 30. She died on October 2 in a hospital in the town of Shelekhov, near Irkutsk. Russian authorities cited "pneumonia of unknown cause" as the cause of her death.
After the incident, about 200 people who came into contact with Shipilova were quarantined and medically monitored. So far, no confirmed cases of plague or other high-risk infectious diseases have been found among them. Quarantine measures were also taken at the hospital.
Russian media have claimed that the woman may have been exposed to plague germs after a test tube broke in the laboratory. However, this claim has not yet been proven. Russia's public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said there was no evidence of an accident that could have spread any dangerous germs in the laboratory.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it had been informed by Russian authorities that no confirmed cases of plague had been detected in Irkutsk. The organization is monitoring the situation and said the risk of an outbreak outside Russia is currently very low.
Plague is a serious infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. It is usually spread by infected small mammals and their fleas. Plague still exists naturally in some parts of the world, including Siberia. There are three main types of plague: bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic. Bubonic plague is the most common. It usually causes swollen lymph nodes and can cause symptoms such as fever, chills, headache, and body aches.
Septicemia plague causes an infection in the blood. Pneumonic plague affects the lungs. This type of infection can cause coughing, chest pain, shortness of breath, and sometimes bloody sputum. Pneumonic plague can also be spread to other people in close contact through respiratory secretions from an infected person.
Pneumonic and septicemic plague can be rapidly fatal if left untreated. However, if detected early, plague can be treated with antibiotics. Thanks to modern medical care, the global risk of the disease is now much lower than in the past.
The Irkutsk incident has also drawn international attention. The United States is monitoring the situation. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there is no reason to panic right now, but the incident is being closely monitored.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also urged the public and the media to follow official information from Russian public health authorities instead of rumors or speculation.
According to experts, when there is a risk of exposure to potentially dangerous germs in a laboratory, it is normal public health practice to identify, quarantine, and monitor those who have come into contact with them. As a result, while precautionary measures have been taken, there is still no evidence to support a confirmed plague outbreak.
Most importantly, Russian authorities have not yet confirmed plague as the cause of Daria Shipilova's death. There have been no confirmed cases of plague among those who came into contact with her. So while the incident needs to be monitored, there is no reason to see it as the start of a new global plague pandemic at this time. Source: Al Jazeera
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