The US is closely monitoring a suspected plague case linked to a Russian laboratory after a worker’s death triggered quarantine measures across Siberia…reports News Desk
The United States is closely monitoring a suspected plague case linked to a laboratory worker in Siberia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, as Russian authorities maintain that the woman died from pneumonia of unknown origin and deny evidence of a plague infection.
Rubio said Washington was concerned about the possibility that an infection could have spread within the Russian facility, although he stressed that the situation was not currently considered a cause for alarm.
“We’re watching and monitoring it closely. I don’t think it’s cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause to just keep an eye on it, and we’re doing that,” Rubio told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before travelling to Europe.
The US secretary of state said American information about the incident remained limited and was based largely on information provided by Russian authorities.
“We know what we know, obviously, about whatever the Russians have provided,” Rubio said. “It seems that there was a worker at the lab that was infected, and there’s concern that that could have spread, at least internally.”
The case centres on Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory assistant at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia. She died on October 2 after developing severe pneumonia.
The circumstances surrounding her illness have generated concern because of her work at a facility specialising in dangerous infectious diseases. Reports citing unofficial sources alleged that she may have been exposed after a test tube containing plague bacteria was broken, although Russian authorities have not confirmed that account.
Russia’s health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, has rejected the suggestion that Shipilova’s death was caused by plague.
The agency said testing of biological material from Shipilova found no microorganisms associated with her professional activity and that no accidents involving pathogenic microorganisms had been recorded at the institute. It said tests among people who had contact with her detected two cases of Covid-19 and two rhinovirus infections, but no other dangerous infectious agents.
Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said a special commission had determined the cause of death as “pneumonia of unknown aetiology”, while insisting that the situation remained under control.
Despite the official denial of plague, Russian authorities have imposed extensive precautionary measures.
More than 60 employees of the anti-plague institute have reportedly remained isolated, while several hospitals in the Irkutsk region have introduced quarantine measures. Authorities have also placed people who had contact with Shipilova under medical observation.
A mask requirement was introduced at an aluminium plant in the nearby town of Shelekhov, where Shipilova lived, adding to public concern despite the absence of a confirmed plague case.
The World Health Organisation has also been monitoring the situation. The UN agency has said the cause of Shipilova’s death has not been officially confirmed and that it is communicating with Russian authorities to establish the circumstances, laboratory test results and status of people who came into contact with her.
Based on unofficial information available to it, the WHO said the public health risk appeared to be low, while stressing that its assessment could change as more information becomes available.
The distinction is important because plague is not synonymous with the historic pandemics associated with the Black Death. The disease is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and can occur in bubonic, septicaemic and pneumonic forms.
Pneumonic plague is the form that presents the greatest concern for person-to-person transmission because it can spread through respiratory droplets. It can become rapidly fatal without treatment, although modern antibiotics can be highly effective when administered promptly.
For Washington, the principal concern is whether an infection could have escaped the laboratory environment rather than any evidence of a current threat to Americans.
Rubio noted that travel between the United States and Russia remains very limited, reducing the immediate opportunity for transmission between the two countries. But he warned that infectious diseases can spread rapidly if they escape containment.
The US State Department has separately said it is monitoring reports of a suspected fatal case of pneumonic plague in the Irkutsk region in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other government agencies.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has urged journalists and the public to rely on information from Rospotrebnadzor rather than rumours or speculation.
