Irkutsk hospitals placed under quarantine after death of anti-plague institute worker

Several hospitals in Irkutsk, Russia, have been placed under three-week quarantines since October 4, according to the local outlet People of Baikal. City Clinical Hospitals No. 1, No. 3 and No. 10, along with the Ivano-Matreninskaya Children's Hospital, have been closed. Relatives reported that a maternity hospital in the city was also quarantined.

An anonymous health care source told the outlet that doctors in Irkutsk are openly discussing the possibility of plague, even though official documents sent to hospitals do not mention that diagnosis. The source noted that in cases of pneumonic plague, quarantine measures are typically applied across all medical facilities at once rather than to select ones.

Shortly after the report, Russia's consumer health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, stated that the public health situation in the Irkutsk region, including the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov, remains stable, and that a series of special precautionary measures had been introduced. These measures followed a case of pneumonia of unknown origin in an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute. The agency stressed that no microorganisms linked to her professional duties were found in her body.

On October 3, mask-wearing became mandatory at the Irkutsk Aluminum Plant in Shelekhov, with the plant's director describing it as a precautionary step.

Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory technician at the institute, died last week in Shelekhov after being hospitalized for two days. Two competing explanations circulated: that she had contracted pneumonic plague after returning from Thailand, or that she had broken a test tube containing the plague pathogen in the lab. Rospotrebnadzor denies any accidents involving pathogenic microorganisms occurred at the institute.

Irkutsk region Governor Igor Kobzev met with Russia's chief public health officer and traveled to Irkutsk on October 2, citing reports of a suspected case of a dangerous infectious disease. The head of neighboring Buryatia initially said the woman who died of plague had not visited his region, then edited the statement to describe her death from plague as only possible rather than confirmed. A local municipality urged residents not to travel to Shelekhov before deleting that advisory. As of October 2, 197 people reportedly remained quarantined, with Rospotrebnadzor saying none showed signs of illness.