The Trump administration is monitoring a suspected pneumonic plague death that has caused panic in Russia and led to hundreds of people being placed under quarantine, according to reports.
Darya Shipilova, a laboratory worker at the Anti-Plague Research Institute in Shelekhov, Irkutsk, was reportedly exposed to live Yersinia pestis bacteria when she accidentally broke a test tube containing the pathogen while collecting samples.
She is understood to have been hospitalized on 29 September with severe pneumonia of “unknown origin” and placed on a ventilator but died two days later.
An official quoted by Axios has since said the White House “is aware, monitoring the outbreak, and assessing options.”
A State Department spokesperson meanwhile told CNN: “We are monitoring the situation closely with the CDC and our other interagency partners.
“Many details have not been confirmed. We encourage Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly.”
The Independent has reached out to the White House and the State Department for more information.
At least 197 people suspected of having direct or indirect contact with the late lab technician have been placed under medical isolation, the independent Russian outlet Lyudi Baikal has reported.
More than 100 of those individuals are currently being monitored in hospital wards, although Irkutsk Gov. Igor Kobzev stated on Telegram that all of Shipilova’s identified close contacts remain asymptomatic and have tested negative for the disease.
Kobzev referred to the disease only as a “suspected case of a particularly dangerous infection” and did not acknowledge Shipilova’s death directly as he appealed to local residents to remain calm.
Local authorities have nevertheless instituted strict quarantine measures across the district, targeting the Shelekhov District Hospital, a nearby maternity facility and a local aluminium plant.
Mikhail Favorov, a senior Russian epidemiologist, interviewed by Echo, has meanwhile cast doubt on the broken test tube explanation for the tragedy.
“It’s laughable,” Favorov said. “Someone working at the Anti-Plague Institute in Irkutsk wears a protective anti-plague suit.
“If you break a test tube, the likelihood of infection is actually very low. In short, it doesn’t matter to the general public – they’ll believe the ‘broken test tube’ story. It’s absolutely hair-raising. We will not be told what really happened.”
According to guidelines from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, patients infected with pneumonic plague typically experience rapid onset fever, headaches, and physical weakness, alongside severe respiratory distress such as shortness of breath, chest pain, coughing, and watery or blood-tinged mucus.
Unlike bubonic and septicemic plagues, which generally pass to humans via flea bites or contact with infected animals, pneumonic plague attacks the lungs directly and can easily spread from person to person through airborne respiratory droplets.
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