A lab worker infected with an ‘unknown’ pathogen after dropping a test tube. Hospitals under lockdown.

It sounds like the beginning of a zombie film, but this is what’s currently happening in Shelekhov, a town in Siberia, Russia.

Daria Shipilova, 28, died on October 1 of what Russia’s public health agency has called a ‘pneumonia of unknown’ origin.

Shipilova was a researcher at an anti-plague research institute in Irkutsk, which examines high-risk bacterial and viral infections.

The undisclosed illness has come to be described by news outlets as the ‘Russian plague’.

But is it anything to worry about? spoke with health experts to find out.

Did Daria Shipilova die of the plague then?

We’re not sure yet. Russian news outlet People of Baikal reported that Shipilova broke a test tube, though inspections found none of the pathogens clinicians are working with in her body.

Telegram outlet Baza said Shipilova fell ill returning from Buryatia, where an outbreak erupted among squirrels, but local officials deny this.

What we know for sure is that parts of Shelekhov Hospital, where Shipilova was treated for two days, were quarantined.

Nearly 200 people who came into contact with Shipilova have been placed under medical observation, according to Russia’s REN TV. None have shown signs of illness.

This response is to be expected, says Professor Malick Gibani, an infectious diseases expert at Imperial College London.

‘It’s not clear to me if this is a confirmed case or if there are any recognised suspected secondary cases,’ he tells . ‘Hopefully, the information will come out in time.’

What is the difference between the bubonic plague and pneumonic plague?

Shipilova reportedly died of pneumonic plague, which infests the lungs.

The disease is the rarest but most infectious of the three types of plague, all caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. 

‘Pneumonic plague is generally considered a severe disease and is of public health interest because there can be person-to-person spread,’ says Professor Gibani.

It lurks inside respiratory droplets, the mucus spluttered when a person coughs or sneezes.

The pneumonic form of plague kills faster than the better-known bubonic plague, otherwise called the Black Death in the Middle Ages.

This plague is zoonotic, spreading to humans by fleas that bite an infected rat, then a human.

Bubonic plague causes the lymph nodes – glands that act as the janitors of our bodies, removing germs and waste products – to swell, called buboes.

It sometimes spirals into pneumonic plague as the breakdown of lymph nodes leads to bacteria spreading to the lungs.

The third type of plague is septicemic, which occurs when the infection spreads to the bloodstream.

The mortality rate is nearly 100% for pneumonic and septicemic forms and around 60% for bubonic, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

Does pneumonic plague pose a pandemic risk?

Professor Brendan Wren is the co-director of the Vaccine Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

His answer to the above question was short: ‘Not really but we need to monitor.’

Yersinia pestis is not nearly as transmissible as SARS-CoV-2, the wily virus behind the Covid pandemic, Professor Wren adds.

‘Plague is still endemic in many parts of the world,’ he says, using a term for a regional outbreak of an illness, ‘including western parts of the US.

‘So there shouldn’t be too much concern, as the transmission of Yersinia pestis between humans is generally poor.’

Professor Gibani agrees, suggesting that the UKHSA is probably monitoring the Russia situation like the US is.

‘Of course there have been historical plague pandemics – we all learn about it in school! – and it would be fair to say that plague is the archetypal bacterial pandemic pathogen,’ he says.

‘Unlike previous plague pandemics, however, we’re now operating in an area where we have effective treatments, diagnostics, and some, albeit as yet unlicensed, preventative measures, like vaccines currently in development.’

Wait, so there is a treatment for the plague?

Yes. Antibiotics – drugs that kill or slow the growth of bacteria – are effective if the patient is diagnosed early.

Early treatment can be the difference between life and death for plague patients.

This is why anti-plague labs, like the one Shipilova worked at, are vital, adds Professor Wren.

‘Generally, to make improved vaccines that could be used in regions of the world where plague is endemic,’ Professor Wren says.

‘If Yersinia pestis was weaponised, a vaccine for military personnel may be desirable.’

The UKHSA has been approached for comment.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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