Russian authorities initially made public statements about a possible case of plague in the country.
However, those statements soon disappeared, and officials began offering alternative explanations for the death of a laboratory worker in Irkutsk.
On 3 October, local officials in Baikalsk warned residents to avoid traveling to neighboring Shelekhov, citing a possible plague outbreak, but the announcement was subsequently deleted, according to Newsweek.
Media outlets also noted that the federal pro-government television channel REN TV recently removed five reports, all of which had mentioned the suspected plague outbreak.
The head of Buryatia, Alexey Tsydenov, at first said that the woman died from plague infection, but later edited his statement to say she “could have died from plague.”
Federal authorities went further, officially listing the cause of death as “pneumonia of unknown etiology,” a form of lung inflammation with an undetermined origin, which significantly differed from the initial statements by regional officials.
The report also said that within a short time, Russia’s public messaging about this high-profile incident changed dramatically. Initial direct references to plague gave way to speculation, and then to mentions of a completely different illness.
The publication also stated that the outlet Lyudi Baikala reported that on September 25, Shipilova broke a test tube containing Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, while at work.
There has been no confirmation of this claim. The pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Mash said Shipilova had recently returned from a work trip to Buryatia, a region where natural plague hotspots exist.
However, the regional governor said she reportedly did not travel to Buryatia at all. There were also earlier versions suggesting that she had recently returned from Thailand.
Former colleagues of Shipilova told Sibir.Realii, a project of Radio Svoboda, that glass test tubes were never used in the lab’s “clean” zone. They also said that vaccination against the disease was required for all staff, including interns.
Questions have also been raised about the timeline of events. Reports say Shipilova was last at the institute on September 25 and was hospitalized four days later.
However, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that the incubation period for primary pneumonic plague usually ranges from one to three days. In Russia, the incubation period is generally considered to be two to four days. “Four days neither confirms nor excludes the likelihood of plague infection,” the article noted.
This cautious official response indicated that authorities were seriously concerned by the situation.
Meanwhile, Russian media reported a significant spike in sales of Albert Camus’s novel The Plague on October 6. In addition, US Senator Marco Rubio called on Russia to provide detailed information about the situation in Irkutsk.
(UAWire)
