White House monitors suspected plague case in Russia after lab worker dies
The White House is monitoring reports of a suspected plague case in Russia's Irkutsk region after a worker at an anti-plague research institute died following a reported laboratory accident and nearly 200 of her contacts were placed under medical observation.
A Trump administration official told Axios that the White House was aware of the situation, was monitoring it and was assessing possible responses.
Russian health authorities have not confirmed that the woman contracted plague. Officials said the people placed under observation had shown no symptoms and tested negative.
According to local reports cited by Axios, Daria Shipilova, 28, worked at an anti-plague research institute in Russia's Irkutsk region and broke a test tube containing the pathogen that causes pneumonic plague on Sept. 25.
Shipilova was hospitalized four days later with symptoms of severe pneumonia and died overnight between Oct. 1 and Oct. 2.
Authorities subsequently imposed quarantines at several medical facilities in the region and placed nearly 200 people who had been in contact with Shipilova under medical observation.
Russian health authorities have described her cause of death as "pneumonia of unknown etiology." The country's public health agency said further testing found no microorganisms associated with Shipilova's work and maintained that the epidemiological situation in the region remained stable.
Plague is a potentially life-threatening bacterial disease but can be treated with antibiotics when diagnosed promptly, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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