SRINAGAR: A Russian laboratory worker has died after being diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown origin following a reported incident at an anti-plague research facility in the Siberian city of Shelekhov, prompting authorities to introduce special measures in the area, according to Russian officials and media reports.
The incident occurred at the Anti-Plague Research Institute in Shelekhov, near Irkutsk, according to Russian state news agency TASS. Russia’s consumer and infectious disease watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said it remained unclear what substance had been released.
The deceased researcher was identified by The Moscow Times as 28-year-old Daria Shipilova, who died last Friday.
Other Russian media reports said Shipilova became ill after being exposed to a broken test tube containing the pathogen that causes pneumonic plague while working at the research centre. The circumstances of the reported exposure have not been independently established.
Rospotrebnadzor said authorities were carrying out special measures in Irkutsk, a city with a population of about 600,000, as well as in Shelekhov.
“The sanitary and epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region, the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov is stable,” Rospotrebnadzor said.
Independent regional outlet Liudi Baikala reported, citing unofficial information, that nearly 200 people were placed under observation at the Shelekhov hospital where Shipilova was taken. It also reported that quarantine measures had been introduced at at least one maternity hospital in the city. These reports have not been confirmed by Russian health authorities.
Pneumonic plague is one of three forms of plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Unlike the forms generally associated with infected fleas, animals or tissues, pneumonic plague can spread directly between people through respiratory particles.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says the disease can cause fever, headache and weakness, followed by rapidly developing pneumonia, shortness of breath, chest pain and coughing, which can sometimes involve bloody or watery mucus.
The World Health Organisation has said plague can have a high fatality rate, but noted that it can be treated effectively with antibiotics when diagnosed and treated promptly, alongside measures to prevent further transmission.
