Adnkronos (Adnkronos) –
The White House is monitoring reports of a case of pneumonic plague in Russia. A 28-year-old woman, researcher Daria Shipilova, has died in the Irkutsk region, a regional official announced, according to local media reports. At least 200 people with whom she may have had contact have been quarantined.
President Donald Trump's administration, an official told Axios, "is aware of the situation, monitoring the outbreak and evaluating possible options."
According to reports, Shipilova broke a test tube containing the pneumonic plague pathogen. She was hospitalized on September 29 with symptoms of severe pneumonia and died during the night of October 1-2. Following the researcher's death, authorities imposed quarantines at several health facilities in the region and placed nearly 200 people who had come into contact with her under medical observation.
Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev stated that the people being monitored showed no symptoms of the disease and had tested negative. The diagnosis of pneumonic plague in connection with Shipilova's death has not been officially confirmed by the authorities.
Axios highlights that according to the Russian public health agency, the woman was suffering from “pneumonia of unknown etiology” and that further tests did not detect any microorganisms attributable to her work activities.
According to the agency's reports, the epidemiological situation in the region remains stable.
As stated on the official website of the Italian National Institute of Health, pneumonic plague is a variant of plague, in which the bacterium infects the lungs. This form of the disease can be transmitted from person to person through the air or aerosols from infected individuals and is therefore one of the most dangerous forms due to its epidemic potential. The pneumonic form can also result from the degeneration of other forms if not treated promptly.
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