Last week, a researcher at a plague research facility in Siberia reportedly died from an accident, and the United States is keeping a close watch on the incident. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, confirmed that the country is tracking the situation.
The woman who fell sick while employed at the anti-plague institute in Irkutsk was Darya Shipilova, aged 28. Two days after she first became ill at work, she passed away on the night of 2 October at a hospital in the neighboring town of Shelekhov.
According to some unverified reports in Russian media, Shipilova may have contracted her illness after an accident at the laboratory. No official confirmation has been given of that explanation.
The Lockdown at the Institute
According to local reports, the institute is currently under lockdown. Workers have been compelled to rest on the floor and on chairs. A person related to one of those inside, named Roman, spoke with the news portal Siberia.Realities, saying that everyone has been kept apart from others since Friday – over 60 people in total.
Food was permitted to be delivered by family members at a checkpoint while tests took place within the building. Several other hospitals in and around the city have also had similar quarantine rules put in place.
The Official Statements
Russia’s health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, stated that Shipilova died from “pneumonia of unknown aetiology.” Tests, it said, showed no micro-organisms connected to her professional work. The agency also described the “sanitary and epidemiological” situation in the area as stable.
Alexey Tsydenov, head of the Buryatia region, which neighbours Irkutsk, initially wrote that Shipilova had died of plague. He then edited his post to say she had “possibly” died of the disease.
People of Baikal is an exiled Russian media outlet specialising in Siberia, and its journalist Elena Trifonova has reported that daily life on the streets shows no obvious changes. Yet she says people are worried and anxious.
The Quarantine Response
Relatives were not being allowed to visit patients at Irkutsk city clinical hospital No 1 and the Ivano-Matreninskaya children’s hospital, according to people there. Those inside were also not permitted to leave.
A woman named Ulyana Gavryunina attended one of Irkutsk’s principal maternity hospitals for a routine examination. There, she claims the doctors would not permit her mother to accompany her, citing a quarantine as their reason. On Instagram, she published an image of the screening form used during her visit.
At the Irkutsk aluminium smelter in Shelekhov, a mask requirement has been put in place. The facility’s director, Artyom Fominykh, described it as a preventive measure, explaining that “Better safe than sorry.”.
Several public events in Irkutsk were cancelled over the weekend.
The Political Context
Officials in the neighbouring city of Baikalsk initially advised people not to travel to Shelekhov and the surrounding communities following reports of a potential plague infection. The warning was posted on social media, where it remained for a short time before being taken down.
On Friday, Anna Popova, the head of Rospotrebnadzor and Russia’s chief sanitary doctor, arrived in Irkutsk for an emergency gathering of the regional sanitary and anti-epidemic commission. The meeting was called to address a suspected case of a “particularly dangerous infection.”.
Irkutsk region governor Igor Kobzev reported that all identified contacts have been put under medical observation and that none of them has shown any sign of illness or returned a positive result. He did not mention reports that a laboratory worker had died.
A Republican representative and senior member of the House armed services committee, Don Bacon, posted online: “I remember hearing from anti-Ukraine voices about their so-called bio labs. It was Russian disinformation ops at their best. But in reality it is Russia with the bio labs.”
The Facts on Plague in Siberia
In Siberia and the Russian far east, plague still exists naturally among animals. People rarely catch it there. The most recent person known to have caught it was in 2016, when a 10-year-old boy in Siberia’s Altai Republic came down with plague after taking part in butchering a marmot.
A professor of virology at the University of Reading in the UK has described the case as what appears to be a rare lab accident, and he considers it unlikely to spread further.
What Is Known
Shipilova’s passing has triggered quarantines, lockdowns and cancellations, yet the official reason for her death is still being contested.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Shipilova becomes ill at work | Last week |
| Shipilova dies | Night of 2 October |
| Lockdown begins at institute | Since Friday |
| Emergency meeting held | Friday |
Roman waits for answers while the Russians quarantine themselves. The US watches on.
Source material: “US closely monitoring case of lab worker who possibly died of plague in Siberia,” The Guardian.
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