Russia plague scare: Second person succumbs to infection, reports claim
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Russia plague scare: Second person succumbs to infection, reports claim")
Russia is witnessing a plague scare.
Russia plague outbreak: Two people have reportedly succumbed to the infection in the country, with local media reports claiming a second person died at the Irkutsk District Hospital in Siberia. Meanwhile, the WHO said it is monitoring the situation.
A second person has reportedly died of plague in Russia, according to local media reports. Unconfirmed reports emerging Wednesday morning from the country suggest that the person died at the Irkutsk District Hospital in Siberia and had symptoms similar to those of lab worker Darya Shipilova, the first reported victim. The Moscow Times reported that the 29-year-old contracted the infection after accidentally breaking a test tube containing live bacteria.
More than 200 people were under quarantine after Shipilova's death. Reports claim that the lab worker died of the fatal plague strain, Pneumonic plague. However, Russia has maintained that she died of a form of pneumonia and not plague. Putin is being accused of covering up the outbreak and the scale of the emergency.
What WHO said about the plague scare in Russia
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) says the possible case of pneumonic plague presents a "very low" risk outside the country. The health agency said it was in contact with Russian authorities after the lab worker's death. Shipilova worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. After she started showing symptoms, she was admitted to the hospital, where she passed away.
Russian health officials said on Tuesday that the woman's contacts are being traced. A full range of preventive measures had been carried out, and people who could have come in contact with her were tested and are being monitored. "Test results showed no presence of dangerous infectious disease pathogens in any of the contacts," a note from Russian authorities stated, as per The Associated Press.
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“Based on available data, laboratory test results, and health status, medical monitoring for 100% of the contacts has now been concluded,” it said. “The epidemiological situation is stable and remains under monitoring.”
Neighbouring countries tighten borders
Russia's neighbouring countries have started taking precautions. Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have tightened their border health controls amid reports that Russia was witnessing an outbreak of the pneumonic plague. Russia is reportedly quelling all reports of the plague, with some claiming that the plague reports are disappearing across national media.
According to Independent Russian outlet The Insider, the federal television channel REN TV deleted all five of its publications about the plague. Moscow's Channel 5 broadcaster and a nationally distributed daily newspaper, Kommersant, also allegedly removed all reports. The Baikalsk administration near the Mongolian border urged its residents not to travel to the Shelekhov district in a Telegram post on October 3. The post was deleted two hours later.
"Due to unofficial information about a confirmed case of plague in a person in the city of Shelekhov, we ask you to limit visits to Shelekhov and nearby settlements until the circumstances surrounding this threat are clarified," the Baykalsk city administration's post read.
