Lab worker dies after reported exposure to plague bacteria
Irkutsk plague case
A possible case of pneumonic plague occurred in Russia’s Irkutsk region.
The 28-year-old lab technician, Darya Shipilova, passed away on October 2.
She worked for the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute.
According to local news, her disease may be connected to the accident in the lab.
She is accused of breaking the test tube with Yersinia pestis bacteria alive in it.
Later she had serious pneumonia and needed to be hospitalized.
She was admitted to a hospital in Shelekhov on September 29.
She apparently became worse despite the efforts made by doctors.
She was connected to a breathing machine later.
No confirmation that she died because of plague has been given by the authorities yet.
Russia’s public health organization gave another version of her disease.
They said it was pneumonia whose cause is unknown and stated that the situation is stable.
Nevertheless, about 200 people who came into contact with the patient were put under medical supervision.
Some hospitals have also been taking precautionary steps in terms of quarantine.
There have been some cancellations of public events in the Irkutsk region.
The idea behind these steps is to avoid any transmission of infection.
There have also been reports from the White House regarding the suspected case.
A US administration official informed Axios about these reports.
However, the Russian officials are still investigating the case in detail.
The actual reason for Shipilova’s illness is still under investigation.
