A female staff member at an anti-plague institute in the Irkutsk region who died amid rumours of a "black death" outbreak was diagnosed with "pneumonia of unknown origin".
asserted
who → die → origin
Rospotrebnadzor insists that the situation in the region is "stable".
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situation → insist → region
Residents of Russia's Irkutsk region are deeply worried by rumours of a possible outbreak of pneumonic plague in this Siberian area.
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Residents → worry → area
Speculation began to spread rapidly after the death of an employee of the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute.
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Speculation → begin → Institute
Darya Shipilova died in the early hours of 2 October in the intensive care unit of the district hospital in the town of Shelekhov.
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Shipilova → die → Shelekhov
According to local media, she broke a test tube containing the plague pathogen.
uncertain
she → accord → pathogen
The incident prompted authorities to introduce quarantine measures: around 200 people have been placed under strict medical observation.
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people → prompt → observation
The outlet "Baikal People" (source in Russian) reports that several Irkutsk hospitals were immediately closed and placed under quarantine, due to last three weeks.
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hospitals → report → last
On Saturday, masks were made compulsory as a preventive measure at the Irkutsk aluminium plant in Shelekhov.
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masks → make → Shelekhov
Residents of Shelekhov have seen people on the streets wearing protective suits, masks and gloves.
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people → see → suits
Local parents also say masks were handed out in kindergartens.
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masks → say → kindergartens
Where did the plague come from?
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plague → come → Where
The deceased, a 28-year-old laboratory assistant, specialised in research on dangerous pathogens.
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deceased → specialise → pathogens
According to the main account reported by her colleagues and independent media, on 25 September, while working with live biological material in the laboratory, she accidentally smashed a test tube containing the dangerous bacterium Yersinia pestis.
uncertain
she → accord → bacterium
Two days later Shipilova's condition suddenly worsened.
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condition → worsen → ?
She was rushed to Shelekhov district hospital.
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She → rush → hospital
At first doctors, unaware of what had happened, suspected a severe case of coronavirus and admitted her to a specialised Covid unit.
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what → happen → unit
However, the rapid deterioration and the clinical picture forced them to carry out rapid tests for highly dangerous infections.
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deterioration → force → infections
The patient was put on a ventilator, but her life could not be saved.
uncertain
life → put → ventilator
The pulmonary form of plague develops extremely fast and, without prompt and targeted antibiotic treatment, is almost invariably fatal.
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form → develop → treatment
Are the authorities hiding information?
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authorities → hide → information
The authorities' immediate response underlined how serious the situation was.
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situation → underline → ?
The head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, urgently arrived at Shelekhov hospital and took part in an emergency meeting of the sanitary and anti-epidemic commission chaired by regional governor Igor Kobzev.
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head → arrive → Kobzev
After the incident, officials initially restricted the information they released.
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they → restrict → information
During the first 24 hours, authorities in the Irkutsk region and Governor Igor Kobzev avoided using the word "plague".
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authorities → avoid → word
On 2 October Kobzev spoke of "a particularly dangerous infection" and said that "the situation is under strict control".
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situation → speak → control
The next day the authorities in Baikalsk urged residents not to travel to Shelekhov because of plague, but deleted the post a few hours later.
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authorities → urge → post
The head of Buryatia, Alexey Tsydenov, also commented on the situation.
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head → comment → situation
Citing Rospotrebnadzor and the republican government, he said the woman's death was linked to plague infection, but later his statement was amended to a more cautious wording.
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statement → cite → wording
This lack of clarity has fuelled panic on social networks in Irkutsk and neighbouring regions.
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lack → fuel → Irkutsk
Well-known Russian epidemiologist Gennady Onishchenko tried to reassure local residents, saying that plague carriers - rodents and fleas - in Siberia usually go into winter dormancy by early October.
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carriers → know → October
But that did not dispel people's fears.
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that → dispel → fears
On Sunday, Rospotrebnadzor said that the sanitary and epidemiological situation in Irkutsk region was stable, and that the woman had died from "pneumonia of unknown aetiology".
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woman → say → aetiology
The agency insists that further testing of samples taken from the patient did not reveal any micro-organisms related to her professional work.
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testing → insist → work
"The sanitary and epidemiological situation in Irkutsk region, in the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov, is stable," the press service of Rospotrebnadzor said.
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service → say → Rospotrebnadzor
"A special package of measures has been organised and carried out in connection with the illness of an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East, diagnosis: 'Pneumonia of unknown aetiology'.
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package → organise → aetiology
Rospotrebnadzor also stated that no incidents involving pathogenic microorganismshad been recorded at the institute and that "no staff member has sought medical help for infectious diseases in the past 10 days".
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member → state → days
The Aporia
