Nearly 200 people were admitted to hospital for observation after a Russian researcher died of suspected plague infection

Abstract:

According to local Russian media, nearly 200 people in the Irkutsk region of eastern Siberia have been placed under medical observation due to suspected exposure to plague. According to reports, after a staff member of a plague prevention institute in Irkutsk fell ill, a total of

189 people

Under medical monitoring. The head of the neighboring Republic of Buryatia, Alexei Zydenov, posted on social platforms that the female staff member died of a certain type of plague (the specific type was not disclosed).

February 19, 2025 On the same day, St. Petersburg, Russia, a huge Russian flag flew behind a residential building.

The Russian Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Public Welfare Supervision (Lodzpot Rebnazor) announced on Sunday that the staff member was diagnosed with

Pneumonia of unknown cause

, the sanitary and epidemiological situation in Irkutsk Region, Irkutsk City and Sherekhov City is generally stable. The bureau stated that expanded sample testing found no pathogenic microorganisms related to the female researcher’s work.

Russian Telegram channel Mash released local media news on Friday: The 27-year-old employee of the Plague Prevention Institute had gone to Buryat on a business trip; Buryatia is close to the Mongolian-Russian border, and plague foci have been reported there. The woman was suspected of being infected with

pneumonic plague

after returning from the trip . Another theory is that she accidentally broke a test tube containing dangerous pathogenic bacteria while processing biological samples for diagnosis in the laboratory.

According to Axios News on Sunday, citing a Trump administration official,

The White House is following up on reports on the suspected case in Russia and related quarantine controls

. The official said that the US government "is aware of the matter and is monitoring the development of the epidemic and evaluating response plans."

Requests for comment were sent to the Russian Ministry of Health, the Moscow City Health Bureau, the World Health Organization and the U.S. State Department, but all parties have not yet responded.