President Donald Trump said the United States is ready to assist Russia following the death of a laboratory worker at a plague research institute in Siberia and the subsequent quarantine measures imposed across the Irkutsk region.
"We are looking at it very strongly. We just heard about it," Trump said, adding that he had not yet spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin but was prepared to offer support. "It's a disease we used to be able to control. Even with great advancement, the germs have really become relatively stronger than they were, and things that used to work on pneumonia don't work anymore... anyone that has that kind of problem, we will help."
Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, fell ill at work and died two days later, on the night of 2 October, at a regional hospital in the nearby town of Shelekhov. It remains unclear how she became infected. Unconfirmed reports in Russian media have suggested she may have contracted the disease following a mishap at the laboratory, but officials have not publicly confirmed that account.
Russia's health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said Shipilova died from "pneumonia of unknown aetiology." The agency said tests found no micro-organisms linked to her professional work and described the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the area as stable.
Senior Russian officials have sent conflicting messages. Alexey Tsydenov, the head of the neighbouring Buryatia region, initially wrote that Shipilova had died of plague, before editing his post to say she had "possibly" died of the disease. Authorities in the nearby city of Baikalsk briefly urged residents to avoid travelling to Shelekhov and surrounding settlements, then deleted the post from social media.
Despite the absence of a confirmed diagnosis, precautionary measures have been introduced across the region. The institute where Shipilova worked has been locked down, with staff reported to be sleeping on the floor and on chairs. "They've been isolating everybody since Friday - more than 60 people," said one relative, identified as Roman, speaking to the news portal Siberia.Realities. He said family members were permitted to drop off food at a checkpoint while tests were conducted inside the building.
Nearly 200 people have been placed under medical observation, according to Russian media reports. Several hospitals in and around Irkutsk have also been placed under quarantine. Patients at Irkutsk city clinical hospital No 1 and the Ivano-Matreninskaya children's hospital reported that relatives were not being allowed to visit and those inside were not permitted to leave.
At one of Irkutsk's main maternity hospitals, a woman attending a routine check-up said doctors refused to allow her mother inside, citing a quarantine imposed over the suspected plague case. Staff checked her for flu-like symptoms and asked her to complete a screening form on which "plague" was listed as one of the infections. She posted a photograph of the form on Instagram. A mask requirement was also introduced at the Irkutsk aluminium smelter in Shelekhov. The plant's director, Artyom Fominykh, described it as a preventive measure, saying: "Better safe than sorry." Several public events in Irkutsk were cancelled over the weekend.
Anna Popova, the head of Rospotrebnadzor and Russia's chief sanitary doctor, travelled to Irkutsk on Friday and attended an emergency meeting of the regional sanitary and anti-epidemic commission.
"There are no obvious changes to daily life on the streets, but people are worried and anxious. Locals are angry that they are not being told anything," said Elena Trifonova, a journalist with People of Baikal, an exiled Russian media outlet specialising in Siberia.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was monitoring the situation closely but sought to temper concern. "I don't think it's cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause to just keep an eye on it," Rubio said. He noted that there was very limited travel between the United States and Russia but warned that infectious diseases could spread rapidly. "Like anything else, something like that gets out, it just quickly spreads," he said.
A US State Department official said: "We encourage Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly."
The World Health Organization said that based on unofficial information it had received, the "public health risk to the general population appears to be low."
Pneumonic plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, typically found in small mammals and their fleas. It is highly infectious and affects the lungs, causing patients to cough out infectious airborne droplets. If identified quickly, antibiotics can treat the disease. Left untreated, it can be fatal within one to six days.
