The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued an update after emergency containment measures were introduced in Russia’s Irkutsk region following the death of an employee at an anti-plague institute. The agency said the public health risk from plague to the wider UK population currently remains “very low”.
Second death reported in Irkutsk
Russian news outlets are reporting that a second person has died at Irkutsk's district hospital after contracting the same illness. This follows the death of Daria Shipilova, 28, a researcher at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and Far East, who died on 1 October after being hospitalised in Shelekhov on September 29 with severe pneumonia of “unknown origin”.
Shipilova was placed on a ventilator after contracting pneumonia from an “unknown” cause. Russian officials said they have found no evidence her illness was caused by any of the pathogens she worked with, but media reports suggest she may have died of pneumonic plague.
Containment measures and quarantine
The Kyiv Independent reports that Shipilova died after she accidentally broke a test tube holding live plague bacteria while collecting samples. Other reports suggest she fell ill after a field trip to a region where plague occurs naturally among wild rodents.
Almost 200 people who had contact with Shipilova were placed in strict quarantine or under observation, and several hospitals in the city of Irkutsk have been closed for weeks. Russia's health watchdog said no cases of plague have been identified among individuals who came into contact with Shipilova, and around 60 per cent of those under quarantine have now been released.
UKHSA response
Chris Lewis, director of global health protection at the UKHSA, said: “We are aware of media reports that emergency containment measures have been introduced in Russia’s Irkutsk region following the death of an employee at the Irkutsk anti-plague institute. We are seeking information through the International Health Regulations channels to further understand the circumstances and verify the accuracy of these reports. The public health risk from plague to the wider UK population currently remains very low.”
Plague, which is usually found in small mammals and their fleas, is no longer found in the UK, but occurs in several countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas. Person-to-person transmission usually requires direct and close contact with the person with pneumonic plague. If left untreated, plague can cause rapid death, but antibiotics can be effective if the disease is caught in time.
President Donald Trump has said the US is looking “very strongly” at the case.
