Russia Maintains Tight Lid on Info Regarding Plague
Federal authorities recast the cause of death as pneumonia of unknown etiology after early local warnings and plague references were deleted.
- On Friday, Irkutsk authorities officially canceled the quarantine following laboratory worker Shipilova's death, as Federal officials reclassified the cause as "pneumonia of unknown etiology" rather than plague.
- Local officials in Baikalsk previously warned residents to avoid traveling to Shelekhov citing a possible plague outbreak, but the announcement was deleted; federal channel REN recently removed five reports mentioning the suspected outbreak.
- Buryatia head Alexey Tsydenov initially stated the woman died from plague but later edited his statement to say she "could have died from plague." Reports indicate Shipilova broke a test tube containing Yersinia pestis on September 25.
- Senator Marco Rubio called on Russia to provide detailed information about the situation in Irkutsk, while conflicting theories persist regarding whether Shipilova traveled to Buryatia or Thailand or contracted illness through laboratory accident.
- Russian media reported a significant spike in sales of Albert Camus's novel The Plague on October 6, reflecting public anxiety despite official messaging and ongoing questions about laboratory safety protocols.
39 Articles
39 Articles
There are few words capable of provoking a reaction as immediate as “peste”. It goes through centuries, evoking empty cities, overflowing hospitals and entire chapters of human history written under the shadow of an almost legendary disease. So, when reports began to circulate about a possible plague-related infection in Siberia, the news traveled [...]
According to the governor of Irkutsk, a laboratory technician who died of pneumonia in a hospital was immune to the dangerous infections he worked with.
The death of a Russian researcher at an institute specialized in pest control, amid the closure of a hospital and the imposition of a quarantine, raised questions and criticisms about the vagueness of official information and the increasing speculation about the causes of death and the source of infection.
The governor of the Siberian region yesterday announced the conclusion of the checks carried out among the people who came into contact with the dead researcher. But doubts remain as to what happened
After the suspicion of plague in Irkutsk, readers demand transparency, protective measures and a factual classification of the risk.
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