Lab worker ‘possibly’ dies of plague in Siberia, prompting quarantine measures

Darya Shipilova died on the night of 2 October at a regional hospital in Shelekhov. Photograph: Social MediaView image in fullscreenDarya Shipilova died on the night of 2 October at a regional hospital in Shelekhov. Photograph: Social MediaLab worker ‘possibly’ dies of plague in Siberia, prompting quarantine measuresPrecautions in place in several hospitals in eastern Russia amid uncertainty over death of Darya Shipilova

Several hospitals in Siberia have been placed under quarantine after the death of a woman who worked at an anti-plague institute.

Darya Shipilova, an employee at an institute in the eastern city of Irkutsk, died on the night of 2 October at a regional hospital in the nearby town of Shelekhov two days after falling ill.

It remains unclear how she became unwell. Unconfirmed reports circulating in Russian media have suggested Shipilova, who was in her late twenties, may have been infected at work after an accident at the laboratory. Officials have not publicly confirmed that account.

The uncertainty has been compounded by conflicting messages from politicians. Alexey Tsydenov, the head of the Buryatia region, which neighbours Irkutsk, initially wrote that she had died of plague, before editing his post to say she had “possibly” died of the disease.

Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s health watchdog, said Shipilova died from “pneumonia of unknown aetiology”. It insisted that tests found no micro-organisms linked to her professional work and described the “sanitary and epidemiological” situation in the area as stable.

Authorities in the nearby city of Baikalsk briefly urged residents to avoid travelling to Shelekhov and surrounding settlements after what they described as unofficial information about a possible plague infection. They later deleted the post from social media.

“There are no obvious changes to daily life on the streets, but people are worried and anxious. Locals are angry that they are not being told anything,” said Elena Trifonova, a journalist with People of Baikal, an exiled Russian media outlet specialising on Siberia.

Despite the lack of a confirmed diagnosis, a series of precautionary measures appear to have been introduced across the region. The US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on Monday that several hospitals in Irkutsk had been placed under quarantine.

The outlet said staff at the Irkutsk Anti-plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East had reportedly been isolated inside the institute since 2 October.

Patients at Irkutsk city clinical hospital No 1 and the Ivano-Matreninskaya children’s hospital said relatives were not being allowed to visit and people inside were not permitted to leave. Only the delivery of food and personal items is allowed.

Local media also reported quarantine measures at hospitals No 3 and No 10 and at least one maternity hospital. The restrictions have reportedly been imposed for three weeks.

Elsewhere in the region, a mask requirement was introduced at the Irkutsk aluminium smelter in Shelekhov. The plant’s director, Artyom Fominykh, called it a preventive measure, saying: “Better safe than sorry.” Over the weekend several public events in Irkutsk were cancelled.

The incident also prompted intervention from senior federal health officials. Anna Popova, the head of Rospotrebnadzor and the country’s chief sanitary doctor, travelled to Irkutsk last Friday.

She attended an emergency meeting of the regional sanitary and anti-epidemic commission convened over what officials called a suspected case of a “particularly dangerous infection”.

Igor Kobzev, the governor of the Irkutsk region, urged residents to remain calm after meeting Popova to coordinate the response. “All identified contacts have been placed under medical observation. As of today, none is showing signs of illness and laboratory tests have returned negative results,” he wrote on Telegram.

Kobzev made no reference to reports that a laboratory worker had died.

Several US representatives have called for sweeping bans on flights from Russia. “We are aware of reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in Irkutsk oblast, Russia,” the US Department of State told Radio Free Europe, adding that it was closely monitoring the situation together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US health agency.

It urged the Russian authorities to “share accurate information quickly and openly”, while noting that plague was treatable with commonly available antibiotics, particularly when treatment began early.

Plague remains endemic in parts of Siberia and the Russian far east, where the bacterium persists naturally among wild rodents and their fleas.

But human cases in Russia are rare. Before the suspected Irkutsk case, the country’s last recorded human infection was in 2016, when a 10-year-old boy in Siberia’s Altai Republic contracted plague after helping butcher a marmot.