Russia denies plague after a lab worker dies in Irkutsk
Federal health officials cite pneumonia of unknown cause, a regional leader mentioned plague, and nearly 200 contacts remain under observation.
A 28-year-old lab worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute in Siberia died between Oct. 1 and 2 at a hospital in Shelekhov, near the city. She had been admitted on Sept. 29 with severe pneumonia, according to The Moscow Times.
On Oct. 4, Rospotrebnadzor, Russia's federal health authority and a state agency, attributed the death to "pneumonia of undetermined etiology." According to the statement reproduced by Kursiv, tests found no microorganisms linked to her work and the situation in Irkutsk is "stable."
The word plague came from elsewhere. Alexei Tsydenov, head of neighboring Buryatia, wrote in a message that the cause was plague and later changed it to "possibly," according to Meduza. Local media added that she broke a test tube on Sept. 25; no federal authority has confirmed that.
Russian media report 197 possible contacts, 189 of them under observation, and a three-week quarantine at four hospitals and a maternity ward in Irkutsk, according to Mediazona. Those are not official figures. Governor Igor Kobzev said on Oct. 2 that the contacts had no symptoms and their tests were negative.
In the sources reviewed at the time of writing, there is no statement from the WHO, the CDC or Mexico's Health Ministry on the case. Plague is treated with antibiotics, and the pneumonic form spreads between people, according to the WHO in a general fact sheet.
The diagnosis remains open: no independent laboratory has confirmed or ruled out plague.
