In Russia’s Irkutsk Region, a 28-year-old woman died of plague; a hospital suspended the admission and discharge of patients in several departments, UNN reports, citing DW.
Details
At the Shelekhov District Hospital in Russia’s Irkutsk Region, a 28-year-old woman died of plague during the night of October 2. That plague was the cause of death was confirmed by Buryatia’s head, Alexey Tsydenov. The hospital suspended the admission and discharge of patients in several departments. The inpatient facility was placed under quarantine, while the outpatient clinic continues to operate.
According to regional media, the woman may have worked as a laboratory assistant at an anti-plague facility. The Lyudi Baikala outlet reports that her name was Darya Shipilova and that on September 25 she broke a test tube containing the causative agent of pneumonic plague. According to information cited by Izvestia, 197 people who had contact with the deceased have been identified. Of them, 189 were hospitalized.
On October 2, Irkutsk Region Governor Igor Kobzev said that the identified contacts currently showed no signs of illness and that the results of the laboratory tests conducted were negative.
Additionally
The last registered case of human plague in Russia before the current incident dates back to 2016. At that time, the infection was detected in a 10-year-old boy in the Altai Republic who had taken part in butchering a marmot. The child had not been vaccinated and suffered a severe form of the disease, but doctors managed to save him thanks to early detection and the start of treatment.