Woman dies of pneumonic plague in Siberian town after work trip

A female scientist returning from a work trip to Burjatsk, a town near the Mongolian border in Russia's Irkutsk region, died after developing a severe lung infection. Early symptoms led doctors to suspect a serious COVID-19 case, but they later diagnosed pneumonic plague caused by Yersinia pestis and placed her on mechanical ventilation; she could not be saved. In response, the Shot hospital declared a quarantine, stopped admissions and discharges on multiple units, and placed everyone who had been in contact with the patient under medical supervision, with all tests returning negative so far.

Regional Governor Igor Kobzev reported only a suspicion of a "highly dangerous infection," and an emergency meeting of the hygienic-epidemiological commission was held, attended by Anna Popovová of Rospotrebnadzor. The World Health Organization classifies pneumonic plague among the deadliest infectious diseases, capable of spreading through the air. Russia has not recorded a human plague case since 2017.