Lab worker ‘possibly’ dies of plague in Siberia, prompting quarantine measures
Precautions in place in several hospitals in eastern Russia amid uncertainty over death of Darya Shipilova
TL;DR
- Several hospitals in Siberia are under quarantine after the death of Darya Shipilova, an employee of an anti-plague institute.
- Shipilova died on October 2nd, with the official cause being pneumonia of unknown etiology, though unconfirmed reports suggest plague.
- Conflicting messages from officials and a deleted social media post about possible plague infection have increased uncertainty.
- Precautionary measures include hospital quarantines, isolation of institute staff, restricted hospital access, and a mask requirement at an aluminum smelter.
- Anna Popova, head of Russia's health watchdog, traveled to Irkutsk for an emergency meeting.
- US representatives have called for flight bans from Russia and urged open sharing of accurate information.
- Plague is endemic in parts of Siberia, but human cases are rare.