Suspicion of pneumonic plague: lack of transparency from Russian authorities fuels speculation

When Daria Schipilova died in the hospital in the Siberian city of Shelekhov on the night of October 2nd, the Russian authorities were already on alert. The 28-year-old, who studied medicine and laboratory technician at the Institute for Plague Research in Irkutsk, had been admitted to the clinic three days earlier.

Last Friday morning, local media reported for the first time about a “dangerous infection,” because of which a special meeting of the regional leadership had been called. A short time later, a message appeared on the Russian Telegram channel Mash about the circumstances that could have led to the young woman's infection and the cause of death: pneumonic plague.

According to Mash, Schipilova had returned from a business trip to the neighboring Republic of Buryatia, where a source of infection was discovered in the border area with Mongolia. According to another version, the laboratory assistant broke a test tube containing the bacterium Yersinia pestis and became infected in this way.

Given the paucity of facts, it is not possible to verify which of these corresponds to the facts. On Sunday, the responsible supervisory authority, Rospotrebnadzor, simply announced that the institute employee had fallen ill with pneumonia caused by an unknown pathogen. Previous investigations have shown that her illness was unrelated to her professional activity and that there were no further incidents among her colleagues.

Aleksei Tsydenov, head of Buryatia, hastened to clarify on the Mash messenger service that the woman who died of the plague did not travel to Buryatia. He later weakened his wording by adding that she “possibly” died of the plague.

Both his statement and the authorities' complete lack of transparency are fueling speculation about the possible spread of the highly contagious pneumonic plague. The disease can be cured if a high dose of antibiotics is administered immediately, but without treatment it is fatal.

There is a good reason why the Institute for Plague Research is located in southern Siberia. In nearby Altai and in the border area with Mongolia, rodents infected with the plague repeatedly cause transmission to humans. Recently, Anna Popova, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, reported this to President Vladimir Putin. Russia also supplies Mongolia with a plague vaccine. The institute is planning an international conference on the prevention of plague and other dangerous infectious diseases for the second half of October.

The Russian authorities cannot be accused of inaction at this point: possible contacts of the deceased laboratory technician have been isolated, and some Irkutsk hospitals are under strict quarantine. Even the state security apparatus is involved in the current processes.

An uncontrolled spread of pneumonic plague is not to be expected, although the secrecy tactics so typical of the Russian state are anything but trust-promoting. As a precaution, the population is stocking up on antibiotics – while supplies last.