Authorities reported on Friday that 28-year-old Darya Shipilova, a lab tech at a research facility in Siberia, had died at the Shelekhov Hospital in a suspected case of the plague, according to The Moscow Times.
She had been hospitalized with acute pneumonia symptoms on Tuesday and was placed on a ventilator, with reports saying she died two days later on Thursday.
The incident prompted Shelekhov Hospital to quarantine, soon followed by several others in the Irkutsk region, even as health authorities reassured residents everything was fine, the outlet reported. The Irkutsk Aluminum Smelter in Shelekhov also instituted a mask mandate for “preventative measures,” according to its director, Artem Fominykh.
On Saturday morning, the local government for the town of Baykalsk advised residents to avoid traveling to Shelekhov and other nearby towns because of a plague-related death, but the post was taken down shortly after, according to the Times
People of Baikal reported that Shipilova had been exposed to the disease after she had accidentally broken a test tube containing live bacteria on Sept. 25. She first developed symptoms during a work expedition near the Russian border with Mongolia, according to the outlet.
However, Russian epidemiologist Mikhail Favorov, who now lives in the U.S., alleged that the broken test tube story is a government cover-up.
“It’s laughable,” Favorov said, according to the Post. “Someone working at the anti-plague Institute in Irkutsk wears a protective anti-plague suit. If you break a test tube, the likelihood of infection is actually very low. In short, it doesn’t matter to the general public — they’ll believe the ‘dropped test tube story.’”
The incident prompted Shelekhov Hospital to quarantine, soon followed by several others in the Irkutsk region, even as health authorities reassured residents everything was fine, the outlet reported. The Irkutsk Aluminum Smelter in Shelekhov also instituted a mask mandate for “preventative measures,” according to its director, Artem Fominykh.
Just like the authorities after 9/11. Nothing to worry about, no asbestos, go on about your day.
There are an average of seven cases of the bubonic plague in the US every year. The plague is treatable with antibiotics.
But what about weaponized antibiotic resistant plague?
Well there are two things that differentiate that. The first is that it’s weaponized and the second is that it’s antibiotic resistant. I would say those are the two differences between the plague and weaponized antibiotic resistant plague.
if they’ve built a VRE, well, fuck 'em. we’re doomed
So she broke the test tube, and then wasn’t instantly quarantined?
Try reading it again…
Maybe you try?
Okay, I will.
“It’s laughable,” Favorov said, according to the Post. “Someone working at the anti-plague Institute in Irkutsk wears a protective anti-plague suit. If you break a test tube, the likelihood of infection is actually very low. In short, it doesn’t matter to the general public — they’ll believe the ‘dropped test tube story.’”
Edit: added emphasis in bold
Yeah… You and x00z are both not believing putins story. You just didn’t pick up on that x00z was pointing out how silly and nonsensical it would be for the woman to not be immediately quarantined if there was any sort of chance she had become exposed.
In other words, x00z was also pointing out that putins story sounds like bullshit.
Also if it’s the plague…there are many treatment options she would have had access to.
As someone who read Biological War: A Scenario last week… ah geez.
Why the fuck haven’t we suspended all flights from Russia as soon as this news dropped
Why haven’t we suspended them years ago?
Edit: I guess every sensible country (and a few senseless ones) already have
Haven’t they been? Here in Europe they were suspended by most countries years ago. To get to Russia by air you have to go through either Serbia or Türkiye.
That would actually be an interesting way of monitoring embargo violations;
That would be if the countries violating embargoes didn’t have complete control over their media.
“Someone working at the anti-plague Institute in Irkutsk wears a protective anti-plague suit. If you break a test tube, the likelihood of infection is actually very low."
So like… assuming she actually died from the plague, wtf is actually going on? If she was exposed at work, how?
I could be wrong but the few work related pictures I’ve seen of her look like she did more clinical/field related work than strictly bench science.
If she wasnt exposed directly it would mean that shes not actually patient zero, which means they probably have a really good reason to jump directly to broad quarantine.
This was my take from it as well. She’s the first public case, and conveniently treated as patient zero because it fits the narrative. With Russia so hell bent on coverup, who knows how big this plague already is.
it was also pneumonic plague, meaning someone else was already infected and spread to her, via aeresol droplets. a testube would likely result in the bubonic version.
How so? Can’t a liquid in a test tube falling and breaking also cause aerosols?
