A laboratory technician in Russia’s Siberian region of Irkutsk has died in what officials and local media have described as a suspected case of pneumonic plague , while around 200 people, who may have come in contact with her, have reportedly been placed under quarantine.
Pneumonic plague is also highly infectious, reported AFP citing World Health Organization. Additional precautions have reportedly been introduced around Shelekhov, near the research centre. The official said Washington was aware of the reported death in Irkutsk Oblast and was monitoring the situation with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal agencies.
The disease is caused by bacteria and can be fatal if treatment is not started early. The 28-year-old woman, identified by local media as Darya Shipilova, worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute and may have contracted the infection after a test tube broke at the facility, reported news agency AFP.
Kobzev said the meeting was held over a “suspected case of a particularly dangerous infection affecting a resident of the region”, according to CNN. Following an emergency meeting of the local anti-epidemic council with Russia’s chief state sanitary doctor, Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev appealed to residents to remain calm on Friday.
