Russian Plague Lab Technician Dies After Alleged Test Tube Mishap
Up to 200 people are under observation as three hospitals are reportedly locked down following the incident.
A laboratory assistant at a Russian anti-plague research institute in Irkutsk, Siberia, has died from an illness, with reports suggesting she may have been infected after accidentally breaking a test tube containing the pneumonic plague pathogen. The incident has led to a lockdown of three hospitals and placed up to 200 people under medical observation.
Daria Shipilova, 28, was working at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, which handles rare and dangerous diseases, when the alleged accident occurred last week. According to a report from the independent outlet People of Baikal, Shipilova may have broken a test tube containing the plague pathogen before becoming infected.
She was admitted to a hospital in the nearby town of Shelekhov on September 29 with pneumonia symptoms and placed on a ventilator. Shipilova died two days later, as reported by The Moscow Times.
As of Saturday, 189 individuals who may have come into contact with Shipilova have been quarantined. This group includes other staff members at the Anti-Plague Institute.
Authorities in the Irkutsk region, located north of Mongolia, convened an emergency meeting over the weekend to address the situation concerning the "particularly dangerous infection" at the lab. The region's governor, Igor Kobzev, stated that no other individuals are currently showing signs of illness.
Details surrounding the outbreak remain scarce due to limited free press in Russia. Some reports suggest that Shipilova fell ill after returning from a work trip to the neighboring Buryatia region, an area where a plague outbreak had previously occurred, according to Russian tabloid Mash.
Plague is a serious infectious disease typically spread by fleas on rodents. The pneumonic form of the plague, which is suspected in this case, can be transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets.