FEARS Russia’s suspected plague outbreak could “quickly spread” beyond its borders are mounting as experts warn the UK should be on high alert.
Lab worker Daria Shipilova, 28, mysteriously died after falling desperately ill in Shelekhov, Siberia from suspected pneumonic plague.
Russian media reports claim Daria smashed a glass test tube containing deadly bacteria while working at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute.
Russian officials deny any such accident occurred and insist she instead developed “pneumonia of unknown aetiology”.
But the huge containment operation and hospital lockdown in the days after her death has spread alarm far beyond Siberia.
Dr Andrew Weber, who has been inside anti-plague laboratories across the former Soviet Union, said UK health chiefs should consider screening passengers while the Kremlin remains tight-lipped over exactly what killed Daria.
Dr Weber, who worked in the US Department of Defence, told The Sun: “If I were a public health authority in London, I would be monitoring flights and passengers coming from the region and screening them at the airport.”
Kyrgyzstan – a neighbouring country – has tightened sanitary controls at its border checkpoints following reports of the suspected plague case.
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have also announced preventive measures, while Mongolia already has heightened precautions in its regions bordering Russia.
The White House is watching developments too, saying the Trump administration “is aware of the outbreak, is monitoring it, and is evaluating possible courses of action.”
Quarantine measures in place in several hospitals in eastern Russia amid uncertainty over death of Darya Shipilova
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio said: “We’re watching and monitoring it closely.”
Weber warned the stakes would be far higher if Daria was infected with pneumonic plague – the dangerous lung form of the disease which can pass between humans.
“If it’s pneumonic plague, which spreads through the air, it could spread pretty quickly,” he said.
The highly dangerous lung form of the disease is caused by the same bacterium responsible for the medieval Black Death.
Irkutsk’s remote Siberian location and restrictions on flights out of Russia could help contain any potential outbreak.
But Weber warned there is another route stretching thousands of miles across the country.
The Trans-Siberian Railway passes directly through Irkutsk – potentially allowing an infected traveller to reach a major city before boarding an international flight.
The precautions inside Russia have nevertheless raised questions over why authorities have imposed such a severe clampdown while insisting there is no plague outbreak.
Reports say 189 people have been isolated or placed under observation – 114 in one hospital, 63 in another and 12 at the anti-plague institute.
More than 60 of Daria’s colleagues have also reportedly been locked inside the institute for days.
Some were allegedly forced to sleep on floors and chairs despite none initially testing positive for plague.
At least five hospitals have reportedly faced restrictions, while public events and university classes have been disrupted.
Workers at the giant Irkutsk Aluminium Plant in Shelekhov have also been ordered to wear masks.
Three-week restrictions were reportedly imposed at a children’s hospital and at least one maternity hospital.
One patient at City Clinical Hospital No.1 said: “We are under full quarantine. None of our relatives are being allowed in. We are not being allowed out.”
Weber said Russia has a long history of using drastic quarantine measures to crush potential outbreaks.
“In typical Soviet-style fashion, they are very good at quarantine,” he said.
“They isolate people in hospitals to make sure whatever caused her death doesn’t spread further.”
He added: “Because they are an authoritarian state, their ability to quarantine is much better than in the democratic world.”
But Russia’s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor insists extensive testing found no evidence Shipilova was infected by microorganisms linked to her work.
A biological-safety commission also claimed it found no accident involving dangerous pathogens at the institute.
Officials insist the epidemiological situation remains “stable”.
Despite those assurances, almost 200 people who had contact with Shipilova have been placed under observation.
The Kremlin’s handling of the mystery has only fuelled suspicion among locals.
Weber said: “The lack of information is very disturbing.
He added: “Putin is a habitual liar and they cover up things that make them look bad. So it wouldn’t surprise me that this is sort of normal procedure…”
Simon Clarke, head of biomedical studies at Reading University told The Sun: “They cover it up because they’re embarrassed.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/17098582/nations-tighten-borders-plague-fears-sweep-russia/
