Hospital in Russia’s Irkutsk region quarantined amid reports that a patient died of pneumonic plague

Key Points:

• The inpatient department at Shelekhov district hospital in Russia’s Irkutsk region was closed and quarantined after a patient was suspected of having a "particularly dangerous infection," while the outpatient clinic remains open.
• Reports indicate that 28-year-old Darya Shipilova, either a patient with pneumonic plague or a lab technician exposed to the plague pathogen, died after hospitalization; however, no official confirmation of her death or cause has been made.
• Regional authorities, including Governor Igor Kobzev and Russia’s chief sanitary officer Anna Popova, have convened a special meeting and initiated epidemic-control measures, with nearly 200 people who had contact with the patient placed under medical observation.
• Buryatia’s leader initially confirmed the death was due to plague but later revised the statement to say the woman "may have died of plague," emphasizing no plague outbreaks in the region.
• Historically, plague cases in Russia are rare with the last recorded case in 2016, and vaccination protocols exist for high-risk populations and workers handling the plague pathogen.