Nearly 200 people in Russia’s Irkutsk region in eastern Siberia have been placed under medical observation over suspected exposure to plague.

According to The Moscow Times, all of them had been in contact with a laboratory worker at an institute dedicated to studying the plague who died of an undisclosed illness.

“There was a worker at the lab that was infected and there’s a concern that, you know, could have spread, at least internally, so you’ve seen them do quarantines,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

“We’re watching and monitoring it closely,” he added.

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These people were placed in two hospitals, and 12 were sent to the Anti-Plague Institute for observation. Some of them are showing symptoms of the disease, but infection has not yet been confirmed. People who had recently seen the hospitalized individuals are also being identified for investigation, the source added.

According to Mash, a 27-year-old employee of the Anti-Plague Institute fell ill with pneumonic plague . According to one version, she returned from a work trip to Buryatia, where a plague outbreak was reported on the border with Mongolia. Another version states that she accidentally broke a test tube containing a dangerous bacterium in the lab while collecting biopsy specimens for diagnostic purposes. On September 29, she was admitted to Shelekhov Hospital with pneumonia symptoms and placed on a ventilator. However, she died two days later. All clinic staff were isolated, and the institution itself was quarantined.

Irkutsk Region Governor Igor Kobzev held an emergency meeting of the Sanitary and Anti-Epidemic Commission together with Anna Popova, head of Rospotrebnadzor. He said the meeting discussed information about a regional resident’s infection with a “particularly dangerous infection.” “All identified contacts have been placed under medical observation. Currently, they show no signs of illness, and laboratory tests are negative,” Kobzev noted.

Meanwhile, several Asian countries have tightened sanitary controls on their borders with Russia amid the panic.

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In its only comment on the incident, the Kremlin said people should only trust updates coming from the official agency.

“One should rely on official statements from Rospotrebnadzor rather than listening to various rumors and speculation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.

The World Health Organization told CNN it was in contact with the Russian health authorities to “verify the event, its circumstances, the laboratory tests underway, and their results.”

“Based on unofficial information available, the public health risk to the general population appears to be low,” it said.

Despite such reassurances, several countries in the region have put in place safeguarding measures.

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Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Health said that while the risk was “very low”, the situation was being monitored and “sanitary and quarantine controls were implemented at state border crossing points.”

Uzbekistan said it “increased the readiness” of relevant authorities to deal with highly infectious diseases. Kyrgyzstan, which does not share a land border with Russia is some 1,500 miles from Irkutsk, announced Monday it was introducing quarantine controls at state border crossing points.

A virologist in Siberia, Alexander Chepurnov, told CNN that the strict protocols being followed were designed to prevent onward spread.

 

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