Plague or dangerous rumors? What happened in Irkutsk after the death of a lab technician
In the Irkutsk Oblast, a state of high biological alert has been urgently declared due to the tragic death of a 28-year-old laboratory assistant at the anti-plague institute. The entire hospital where the infected woman died has been placed under strict quarantine, the medical staff has not been allowed to go home from their shift for three days, and epidemiologists are reconstructing the deceased's contacts literally minute by minute.
Plague or dangerous rumors? What happened in Irkutsk after the death of a lab technician
The reason for such harsh measures was the suspicion of pneumonic plague — the most dangerous, aggressive, and contagious form of this infection.
The Irkutsk Scientific Research Anti-Plague Institute turned out to be the center of events. According to one of the main versions, on September 25, 28-year-old lab technician Darya Shipilova accidentally broke a test tube containing a highly dangerous biomaterial — the pathogen of pneumonic plague — while working.
Four days later — exactly the length of the incubation period — Darya began to feel unwell. On September 29, she was urgently taken to the Shelekhov District Hospital in the satellite city where she lived. At first, doctors suspected a severe form of coronavirus and placed the young woman in a COVID center.
However, her condition deteriorated rapidly. By October 1, Darya was in intensive care in critical condition. She was put on a ventilator, but they were unable to save her — she died on the night of October 2.
For a long time, official agencies spoke cautiously of a "particularly dangerous infection," but the head of neighboring Buryatia directly confirmed that the institute employee had died of pneumonic plague. In addition, the media actively discussed a version that Darya could have become infected during a trip to Thailand, but these rumors were quickly debunked — the version turned out to be a false lead.
The authorities' reaction was immediate, as pneumonic plague can be transmitted from person to person. Anna Popova, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, urgently flew to Irkutsk. Following the emergency, the Investigative Committee immediately opened a criminal case for violation of biological safety standards resulting in a person's death.
And although Rospotrebnadzor officially claims that the situation is stable, the actual measures resemble the plot of a disaster movie. A strict quarantine was introduced at the Shelekhov hospital: the admission and discharge of patients were completely halted, and the medical staff on duty were locked in and isolated right at their workplaces. According to the independent publication "People of Baikal," a three-week quarantine was urgently introduced in several other major hospitals and even in one of the maternity hospitals in Irkutsk!