Psychosis in Russia due to a possible outbreak of plague in Siberia

MoscowThe death of a laboratory worker who investigates the plague pathogen has raised alarms in Russia. The authorities have placed nearly 200 people under surveillance in Shelekhov, in the Siberian region of Irkutsk, and have confined the city's hospitals to prevent a possible bacterial outbreak. The Kremlin denies that any incident occurred while handling test tubes, but speaks of a “pneumonia of unknown etiology”. The lack of information and the erratic communication from local governors have put world health organizations on alert.

Several Russian media outlets explain that on September 25, Daria Shapilova, a 27-year-old technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, accidentally broke a test tube containing samples of the plague pathogen. A few hours later, she was admitted to the hospital with severe pneumonia that ended her life last Friday morning. Her relatives complain that the doctors confused her symptoms with an acute form of COVID and administered antibiotics too late.

Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian federal body in charge of public health, asserts that in tests conducted on samples from the woman, “no microorganisms related to her professional activity were detected” and that the situation is “stable”. It also clarifies that none of her colleagues had visited medical services for infectious diseases in the preceding days. Nevertheless, the more than sixty scientists at the center where Shapilova worked have been in quarantine in the building since the day of her death, although none have tested positive so far. Patients at the main clinics in Irkutsk are also unable to receive visitors or leave, and the mandatory use of masks is being imposed in some companies.

Rumors that this is a plague outbreak have been unleashed following several comments by local officials. For example, the governor of Irkutsk, Igor Kobzev, spoke of the cause of death as a “suspected particularly dangerous infection,” without specifying a probable diagnosis. In the neighboring Republic of Buryatia, the governor, Aleksei Tsidenov, wrote: “The woman who died of plague in the Irkutsk region had not traveled to Buryatia.” Shortly after, he corrected the post and clarified that she “possibly died of plague.” And on Saturday, the municipal administration of Baikalsk, in Irkutsk, citing unofficial reports of a plague case, urged residents not to travel to Shelekhov. A message that he also ended up deleting.

A source from the media outlet Liudi Baikala claims that doctors “are already speaking openly about the plague,” even though it is not officially admitted. So do the Telegram channels closest to the Russian security forces, which attribute the cause of death to pneumonic plague, a lethal disease if not intervened in time, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. It is more contagious, virulent, and rare than bubonic plague, despite being the same pathogen. It is transmitted through rodents and fleas, but once it makes the jump to humans, it spreads via the respiratory tract and usually has an incubation period of only 24 hours.

Global psychosis

The situation in Siberia has put global epidemiological security agencies on alert. The White House has declared to Axios that they are aware of the crisis in Irkutsk and that they are “monitoring” the outbreak and “assessing the possibilities,” and Brussels has notified that it is “following it closely.” Faced with this fact, Vladimir Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, has asked to “ignore rumors and speculations.” The global psychosis from the coronavirus pandemic, seven years ago, forces health authorities to exercise extreme caution in the face of any suspicious information. Furthermore, just as it happened in China, the Russian government's secrecy hinders transparency and makes it impossible to correctly determine the level of risk.

This crisis also highlights the existence of laboratories specialized in infectious diseases such as the plague in Russia. In fact, Siberia is an especially important area for the study and surveillance of this bacteria because it continues to circulate there among wild animals and fleas. Despite this, the Kremlin and its propagandists have been accusing Ukraine for years, as if it were an exception, of having biolaboratories funded by the United States. According to the Russian narrative, these Ukrainian centers, which effectively are in charge of helping to prevent pandemics, serve to manufacture genetically modified viruses that only affect Slavs and that could be spread through migratory birds and missile-carrying drones.