Inside Russia's 'plague cover-up' from second death to doctor's warning for Brits

Inside Russia's 'plague cover-up' from second death to doctor's warning for Brits A second death has been reported in Russia after a 'plague outbreak' left the Kremlin scrambling. Many fear Vladimir Putin is covering up the true reality of the health crisis, but how worried should we be? The mysterious death of a young lab technician has sparked fears of a major Russian cover-up that could rival Covid. Hundreds of people have been in quarantine with hospitals on lockdown after a suspected pnuemonic plague outbreak left the Kremlin scrambling. Daria Shipilova, a 28-year-old scientist who worked at a plague research facility in Siberia, died after she accidentally broke a test tube holding live plague bacteria while she was collecting samples, the Kyiv Independent reports. Other reports suggest that the technician fell ill after a field trip to a region where plague occurs naturally among wild rodents. Shipilova was hospitalised in Shelekhov in Irkutsk on September 29 with severe pneumonia of "unknown origin" and placed on a ventilator, but died on 1 October. Some believe the institute where Shipilova worked could have been working on a research project concerning biological warfare or a genetically manipulated organism, creating a 'Black Death' which has accidentally been unleashed beyond the lab. Multiple pro-Putin and independent media outlets, as well as a regional governor, claimed Shipilova died from the Black Death pneumonic plague - which killed 25 million in the 1300s - but Russian officials have now fiercely backtracked on the claim. The pneumonic plague is a deadly lung infection that can spread through coughs and sneezes. It causes a severe lung infection that leads to pain and coughing up blood three to seven days after exposure. The resulting pneumonia can kill within 36 hours, causing respiratory failure and shock. Health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has now said that Shipilova's diagnosis was "pneumonia of unknown aetiology". Despite the climbdown, almost 200 people who had contact with Shipilova were placed in strict quarantine or under observation, and several hospitals in the city of Irkutsk have been closed for weeks. And Russian news outlets are now reporting that a second person has died at Irkutsk's district hospital after reportedly contracting the same illness. The country's health watchdog hit back again on Tuesday, saying that no cases of plague have been identified among individuals who came into contact with Shipilova. They also said that around 60 per cent of those under quarantine have now been released. US President Donald Trump said his administration is looking at the situation "very strongly" and is willing to "help" Russian dictator Vladimir Putin over what he said was "disproportionately" stonger pneumonia. Trump said: "Well, we're looking at it very strongly. We just heard about it, and they call it pneumonia. And pneumonia, you know, years ago you could treat pneumonia easier. The microbes and the germs have gotten stronger disproportionately, but we'll help them." Many are questioning the Kremlin's official party line, speculating that Russia could be covering up a significant outbreak comparable to the early days of the Covid pandemic. Nezygar, a Russian politics channel, claimed: "The situation in Shelekhov, Irkutsk region... resembles the Wuhan case." A former colleague of suspected plague victim Shpilova also said: "Her relatives say the doctors treated her symptoms as a severe form of Covid right up until the end, put her on a ventilator, and antibiotics were administered too late." Family members have reportedly been stopped from visiting local hospital wards, while medical staff have been "talking about plague" in private. Russian blogger Ulyana Gavryunina told the Mail that she and other pregnant women were reportedly required to fill out a 'plague' checklist during a check-up at the Irkutsk City Perinatal Centre, while her mother wasn't allowed to set foot in the maternity ward. She claimed: "They explained to me that there was unconfirmed information about a virus that could be even more dangerous than the coronavirus, that it was unclear what kind of virus it was and how to deal with it. So, they introduced a quarantine, and it's unclear how long it will last." And the panic has spread way beyond hospital walls. Classes at the Irkutsk branch of Moscow State Technical University of Civil Aviation were reportedly cancelled after staff were warned of a "case of pneumonic plague in Shelekhov". Meanwhile, some 2,000 workers at Shelekhov's Irkutsk Aluminium Smelter have been ordered to wear masks. Suspicions were raised further when it emerged that Russia's chief sanitary doctor Anna Popova had flown five hours to Irkutsk to deal with the situation. Just last month, while addressing a Kremlin meeting, Ms Popova told Putin that a "great deal of work is being done on the plague", and specifically Russian medics vaccinating Mongolians. But regional governor Igor Kobzev has described the unfolding situation as stable, while official statements dispute the notion that as many as five local hospitals are now in full lockdown. Other nations are taking no chances, however, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying on Monday that the White House is "watching and monitoring" the situation "closely". He told reporters: "There's very limited travel between the US and Russia, obviously. But, like anything else, something like that gets out and could quickly spread." Meanwhile, Chris Lewis, Director of Global Health Protection at UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) told HuffPost UK: "UKHSA is aware of media reports that emergency containment measures have been introduced in Russia's Irkutsk region following the death of an employee at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute. "We are seeking information through the International Health Regulations channels to further understand the circumstances and verify the accuracy of these reports." For Dr Gibani, the whole situation serves as a vital reminder: "I think it really emphasises the importance of biosecurity, both in Russia, but in the UK as well and globally." One of the last recorded incidents of plague in humans was back in 2016, when a 10-year-old boy from Altai, Mongolia, became infected while butchering a marmot. Thankfully, treatment was swift, and the child survived. A couple also died from plague after eating a marmot in 2019. So how worried should we be? Concerningly, unlike the infamous Great Plague of the 1600s - which was a bubonic plague spread by rats - a pneumonic plague can be spread person-to-person. Dr Malick Gibani, a Clinical Associate Professor in Bacterial Vaccinology at Imperial College London, tells the Mirror: "One of the things that is unusual with pneumonic plague is, unlike bubonic plague, which is usually transmitted by flea bites, pneumonic plague can be transmitted from one person to another. There are some forms of plague that can be very severe and potentially fatal. But the general thinking is that if you treat it earlier, then it's much more treatable, and the risk of severe disease is much lower. We're operating in an era where we have a number of different antibiotics that we can use to treat it. "And that's usually why we might offer people post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) if they've been in contact with it or with someone who's known to be infected." Describing the symptoms to look out for, he says: "High fever as well as respiratory symptoms like difficulty breathing, coughing, or a severe chest infection. And often you become severely unwell and may end up with respiratory failure." The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says what then it comes to PEP, patients are administered a short-term course of antibiotics, usually over the course of seven days, when they have come within six feet of a suspected plague victim. While plague is thankfully rare in the 21st century, it still exists in nature. Natural plague foci, ecological systems where the bacteria continually circulate, can be found in Mongolia. Back in 2023, Mongolia's National Centre for the Study of Zoonotic Infections discovered 137 outbreaks across 17 regions, including in parts bordering Russia. And Mongolia isn't the only place where extra care needs to be taken. "Countries like Madagascar and parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo also experience sporadic outbreaks," Dr Gibani warns. "There are usually a few cases each year in parts of the western United States too, particularly in desert areas like Arizona. Other parts of the world, like Central Asia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan, will report occasional cases. We think that it's probably circulating in some animals out in the wild world." Do you have a story to share? Email me at [email protected]