Russian authorities have quarantined a hospital and are monitoring contacts of an employee at a plague research institute in Siberia who contracted pneumonia of an "unknown" cause. Local state TV reported the woman died last week.
Russian authorities stated they found no evidence that her illness was caused by any of the pathogens she worked with at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. However, unconfirmed media reports suggested she might have died of pneumonic plague, a severe and transmissible form of the disease.
The hospital in Shelekhov, a town near Irkutsk, has been placed under quarantine, with no new patients being admitted or discharged, and its laboratory has halted routine tests. The hospital's outpatient clinic continues to operate normally, according to Mayor Maxim Modin.
Anna Popova, head of Russia’s public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, met with Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev and other officials. Kobzev confirmed that everyone who had contact with the woman is under medical supervision, referring to it as a suspected case of "a particularly dangerous infection." Rospotrebnadzor stated that the woman was diagnosed with "pneumonia of unknown etiology" and that extensive testing revealed "no microorganisms associated with the patient’s professional activities." The agency also reported no incidents involving pathogenic microorganisms at the institute.
Among those tested, two individuals tested positive for a common cold virus, and two others for COVID-19. The agency reported that all other tests were negative.
The World Health Organization defines pneumonic plague as a less common but severe form of plague, a disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, typically found in small mammals and their fleas. It can spread from person to person.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov advised the public and media to rely on official statements from Rospotrebnadzor and avoid "rumors or speculation."
As a precaution, the Irkutsk Aluminum Plant in Shelekhov required staff to wear masks, with its director calling for calm and emphasizing a "better safe than sorry" approach.