Russian authorities have launched an investigation after a laboratory worker at a plague research institute in Siberia died after falling ill, prompting the quarantine of dozens of people and raising concerns on social media.
The worker was employed at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. Local media have identified her as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova.
Officials have not disclosed the circumstances surrounding her illness and death, but said she died from pneumonia of an undetermined cause.
Russia’s health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, has sought to reassure the public that the situation is under control and that there is currently no evidence linking the woman’s death to her work at the institute.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that, based on the information currently available, the public health risk to the general population appears to be low. It added that the assessment could change as more information becomes available.
The death prompted Rospotrebnadzor head Anna Popova to travel to the Irkutsk region for an emergency meeting.
Reports indicate that around 200 people who had contact with the woman were placed under quarantine. Parts of the hospital in Shelekhov, where she died, were also cordoned off.
Rospotrebnadzor said officials had not found evidence of an accident involving the handling of pathogens at the research institute, despite rumours on social media that the woman may have dropped a test tube containing live bacteria.
Authorities later reported that two people who had been in contact with the woman tested positive for COVID-19, while two others had rhinovirus infections. No other infectious diseases were detected.
Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said no new cases involving staff from the Anti-Plague Institute had been reported in recent days.
He said all known contacts of the deceased had been identified, medically examined and placed under supervision.
Plague is endemic in parts of Siberia, where the bacterium that causes the disease, Yersinia pestis, circulates among wild rodents and their fleas. Human infections are rare in Russia, although plague cases continue to occur in other parts of the world.
The disease has three main forms, including pneumonic plague, which affects the lungs and can spread through infectious respiratory droplets. When diagnosed early, plague can be treated effectively with antibiotics, but untreated infections can become fatal.
US President Donald Trump described the incident as a serious problem for Russia and offered assistance, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was closely monitoring the situation.
Russian authorities have urged the public to remain calm, maintaining that there is currently no evidence that the laboratory worker’s death was connected to her work or that an outbreak has occurred.