Researcher at Russian plague laboratory dies of ‘unknown’ infection

Russian authorities are responding to an incident in which a suspected dangerous infection was released as a result of a laboratory accident in Siberia and a researcher died.

The incident occurred at the Anti-Plague Research Institute in Shelekhov, near Irkutsk, according to Russian state media TASS.

It is unclear exactly what was released, according to the state agency that handles infectious disease, Rospotrebnadzor. One person – a laboratory worker – is said to have died in the incident after being diagnosed with a pneumonia of “unknown” origin.

“The sanitary and epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region, the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov is stable,” Rospotrebnadzor said.

Special measures had been carried out “in connection with the case of an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute,” Rospotrebnadzor said, adding that the employee had been diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown etiology,” or cause.

The head of the neighboring republic of Buryatia, Alexei Tsydenov, said earlier that the employee – a 28-year old woman – died “possibly from the plague.” He also noted that “there are no plague outbreaks” in Buryatia.

The governor of Irkutsk, Igor Kobzev, urged calm on Friday, saying that an extraordinary meeting of the regional anti-epidemic commission was held with Russia’s chief state doctor.

The meeting was in connection with a “suspected case of a particularly dangerous infection affecting a resident of the region,” Kobzev said on Telegram.

An aluminum plant near the laboratory instructed staff to wear masks as a precautionary measure. The director of Irkutsk Aluminum Plant, Artem Fominikh, also urged calm and noted that “there are many rumors and conflicting reports circulating.”

“All identified close contacts are under medical supervision. At present, they show no signs of the disease, and their laboratory test results are negative,” Fominikh said.

Unofficial reports , including by the independent regional news outlet Liudi Baikala, say that nearly 200 people were placed under observation at the hospital in Shelekhov to which the laboratory technician was taken.

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Quarantine has also been imposed in at least one of the city’s maternity hospitals, according to Liudi Baikala.

The infection in the Irkutsk region is “most likely not the plague, but even if confirmed, there will be no spread of this disease,” a previous head of Rospotrebnadzor, Gennady Onishchenko , said on Friday.

Onishchenko told the state news agency TASS that the onset of cold weather would likely prevent transmission.

Pneumonic plague is one of three types of plagues that are caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. The other two types typically spread from contact with infected fleas, animals or infected tissues. But the pneumonic plague, or lung-based plague, can transfer easily from person to person through respiratory particles.

Patients with pneumonic plague develop fever, headache, weakness and and “a rapidly developing pneumonia with shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, and sometimes bloody or watery mucous,” according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The World Health Organization has noted that plague has a high fatality rate, but is also easily treated with antibiotics and the use of precautions to prevent infections.

俄罗斯当局正在应对一起事件，该事件中，由于西伯利亚一家实验室发生事故，疑似危险传染病被释放，一名研究人员死亡。

据俄罗斯国家通讯社塔斯社报道，该事件发生在伊尔库茨克附近的舍列霍夫防疫研究所。

据俄罗斯联邦消费者权益保护和福利监督局（Rospotrebnadzor）称，目前尚不清楚究竟泄漏了什么物质。据悉，一名实验室工作人员在被诊断出患有“不明原因”肺炎后，在此次事件中死亡。

“伊尔库茨克州、伊尔库茨克市和舍列霍夫市的卫生和流行病学形势稳定，”俄罗斯联邦消费者权益保护和福利监督局表示。

俄罗斯联邦消费者权益保护和福利监督局表示，已针对“伊尔库茨克防疫研究所一名员工的病例”采取了特别措施，并补充说，该员工被诊断患有“病因不明的肺炎”。

邻近的布里亚特共和国领导人阿列克谢·齐杰诺夫早些时候表示，这名28岁的女员工“可能死于鼠疫”。他还指出，布里亚特“没有鼠疫爆发”。

伊尔库茨克州州长伊戈尔·科布泽夫周五呼吁民众保持冷静，并表示地区防疫委员会已与俄罗斯首席国家医生举行了一次特别会议。

科布泽夫在 Telegram 上表示，此次会议与“该地区一名居民疑似感染了一种特别危险的传染病”有关。

实验室附近的一家铝厂要求员工佩戴口罩作为预防措施。伊尔库茨克铝厂厂长阿尔乔姆·福米尼赫也呼吁保持冷静，并指出“目前有很多谣言和相互矛盾的报道在流传”。

“所有已确定的密切接触者都在接受医学观察。目前，他们没有出现任何疾病症状，实验室检测结果也呈阴性，”福米尼赫说。

包括独立地区新闻媒体Liudi Baikala在内的非官方报道称，在实验室技术员被送往的谢列霍夫医院，近200人被送往该医院接受观察。

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已知最古老的鼠疫证据揭示了5500年前这种疾病的致命影响

据柳迪·拜卡拉称，该市至少有一家妇产医院也已实施隔离。

俄罗斯联邦消费者权益保护和福利监督局前局长根纳季·奥尼先科周五表示，伊尔库茨克地区的感染“很可能不是鼠疫，但即使确诊，也不会传播这种疾病”。

奥尼先科告诉塔斯社，寒冷天气的到来可能会阻止病毒传播。

肺鼠疫是由鼠疫耶尔森菌引起的三种鼠疫类型之一。其他两种鼠疫通常通过接触受感染的跳蚤、动物或受感染的组织传播。但肺鼠疫，也称为肺部鼠疫，可以通过呼吸道飞沫在人与人之间轻易传播。

据美国疾病控制与预防中心称，肺鼠疫患者会出现发烧、头痛、虚弱以及“迅速发展的肺炎，伴有呼吸急促、胸痛、咳嗽，有时还会出现带血或水样痰”。

世界卫生组织指出，鼠疫死亡率很高，但用抗生素治疗和采取预防措施防止感染也很容易治愈。