Health authorities in Russia’s Irkutsk region have placed nearly 200 people under medical observation following the death of a laboratory worker from plague, according to regional officials and media reports.
The deceased was identified as Daria Sh., a 27- or 28-year-old employee of the Irkutsk anti-plague institute. According to reports, she told medical staff she had accidentally broken a test tube containing live bacteria while collecting samples for testing.
She was hospitalized Tuesday in Shelekhov, a town near Irkutsk’s regional capital, with symptoms of severe pneumonia. She was placed on a ventilator and died Thursday. Alexei Tsydenov, head of the neighboring republic of Buryatia, confirmed the woman had died from an unspecified form of plague, though Irkutsk officials had initially described the illness only as a “particularly dangerous infection.”
Media reports have characterized the suspected infection as pneumonic plague, which affects the lungs and can spread between humans through respiratory droplets. Tsydenov’s statement did not specify which form of plague caused her death.
At least 197 people who may have had contact with her were placed under medical isolation, including more than 100 in hospital wards, according to reports. The Shelekhov district hospital was placed under quarantine pending assessment by a special commission.
Irkutsk region Governor Igor Kobzev stated on Friday that “all identified contact persons have been placed under medical observation” and that “as of today, the contacts show no signs of illness, and their laboratory test results are negative.”
Tsydenov said the woman had not visited Buryatia and that her infection was unrelated to the region. “There are no plague outbreaks in the republic, including in areas bordering Mongolia,” he wrote on social media, citing information from Russia’s consumer safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor and Buryatia’s government.
Authorities canceled planned public events in Irkutsk as containment measures. Law enforcement reportedly opened a criminal investigation into potential health safety violations resulting in death. Kobzev met with Rospotrebnadzor chief Anna Popova to coordinate emergency response efforts.
Key facts
- A 27- or 28-year-old laboratory worker at the Irkutsk anti-plague institute died from plague after reportedly breaking a test tube with live bacteria
- Nearly 200 people were placed under medical observation, with more than 100 in hospital isolation
- She was hospitalized Tuesday and died Thursday after being placed on a ventilator
- The infection was identified as pneumonic plague, which spreads through respiratory droplets
- As of Friday, all monitored contacts showed no signs of illness and tested negative
- A criminal investigation was opened into potential health safety violations