Armenia has created a government task force to prevent plague from entering the country from Russia, 2 days after Moscow told the World Health Organization that no plague had been found in the Irkutsk laboratory worker whose death prompted the alarm.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ordered the creation of the task force, which Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan will chair. The body is advisory and coordinates preventive measures across government agencies, and Avanesyan will submit proposals to the Prime Minister on matters requiring interagency coordination. The decision was published on the e-gov.am platform.
Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old researcher at the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East, died on October 2. Russia says she died of pneumonia of undetermined origin, while 197 of her contacts were placed under observation and quarantine.
Avanesyan told parliament on Wednesday that checks and temperature screening are being carried out at the border, and that Armenia is prepared to tighten controls on arriving travelers if the risk increases. “All the necessary tools are ready to be deployed depending on the level of risk,” she said.
The task force will assess risks, coordinate preventive measures, verify the preparedness of relevant agencies, exchange information rapidly and prepare expert assessments. Its first meeting must take place within 10 working days of the decision entering force, and the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention provides its technical servicing.
Avanesyan said the situation is under the control of Armenian authorities. The Health Ministry’s operational working group is monitoring reports from Russia, and the ministry is working with the WHO and other partners to assess whether additional precautions are needed.
“We are paying very close attention to this issue, remain vigilant and are carrying out all necessary work in a coordinated manner,” she said. Armenian health authorities are also following reports of Ebola outbreaks in several African countries.
Armenia has suspended its participation in a plague conference at the Irkutsk research institute. “We are following the situation and developments, and at this moment the question of participation is suspended,” ministry spokesperson Mariam Tsatryan said.
What Happened in Irkutsk
Shipilova was admitted to Shelekhov District Hospital in late September. Local outlets reported she told medical staff she had accidentally broken a test tube containing live bacteria while collecting samples.
Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s public health watchdog, says extensive testing found no evidence her illness was caused by any pathogen she worked with, and that there were no incidents involving pathogens at the institute. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters to rely solely on Rospotrebnadzor’s statements and not to listen to rumors of an outbreak.
The 197 figure includes more than 100 people in hospital wards, with figures cited by regional and independent media ranging from 189 to 197. The Shelekhov district hospital was placed under quarantine, and restrictions were imposed on hospitals in Irkutsk including a maternity ward. More than 60 institute staff were confined inside the facility. Workers at the aluminium plant in Shelekhov were ordered to wear medical masks.
Alexei Tsydenov, head of neighboring Buryatia, said after Shipilova’s death that she had died of plague, then amended it to possibly plague.
The WHO Asked Russia What Killed Her
WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said the agency picked up media reports of a suspected pneumonic plague death on October 2 and began monitoring. “A woman who worked at the laboratory in Irkutsk oblast has died, and the authorities are looking into whether pneumonic plague caused her death,” he said in Geneva.
The WHO asked Russia which pneumonia-causing pathogen killed her. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Russian authorities had indicated no plague case had recently been reported in the region and that around 200 contacts had been quarantined.
Lindmeier said no pathogens of dangerous infectious diseases were detected among any of the contacts and that none had shown symptoms. The WHO’s initial risk assessment estimates the risk as moderate to low for Irkutsk, low for Russia as a whole and very low for the WHO European region, and will be updated as more information arrives. The agency said on October 6 that it saw no signs the disease was spreading.
Russia told the WHO that day, under the International Health Regulations, that no case of plague had been recorded in Shipilova or anyone else, that around 200 contacts tested negative, and that medical monitoring of all contacts had concluded. It has not published laboratory results or named the pathogen.
Washington Offered Help and Asked for Answers
Trump said on October 5 that the United States was ready to assist Russia. “It’s a rough disease. You know, that’s a disease we used to be able to control, but somehow those microbes have gotten stronger and smarter. They’re like an army,” he told reporters at the White House. “We’ll help anybody that has that kind of a problem.”
The following day he said a call with Putin was scheduled and would happen very soon, and that American intelligence agencies were in very deep discussions about the case. On October 7 he told reporters in the Oval Office that he does not think the plague is a bioweapon, and that Russia has said the situation is under control.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the White House had received limited information and called on Moscow for greater transparency. “Maybe there’s nothing there, maybe it’s bigger than we thought, we don’t know,” Rubio said in Iceland. A State Department official said the United States had been in touch with Russia about the incident since October 2.
Peskov said Russia welcomed the offer of assistance. Rospotrebnadzor replied that Russia was ready to assist the United States in tackling outbreaks of infectious diseases, citing measles outbreaks in 3 American states.
The US Embassy in Moscow issued a health alert on October 6 noting reports of a suspected pneumonic plague case that led to a death, along with quarantine measures and hospital closures. “U.S. citizens in the area should follow the advice of local health authorities, avoid visiting affected facilities, and seek medical attention immediately if they have fever or respiratory symptoms,” it said. The alert repeated the State Department’s standing instruction for Americans in Russia to leave the country immediately.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is closely monitoring reports of the suspected case and sees no indication of a broader threat to the United States.
What Plague Is
Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, usually found in small mammals and their fleas. Pneumonic plague occurs when the bacteria infect the lungs and can spread between people through respiratory droplets.
The WHO says pneumonic plague can be fatal within 18 to 24 hours of onset if untreated, though common antibiotics for enterobacteria cure it when given early. The agency calls the pneumonic form of particular concern because of the high risk of triggering epidemics. Avanesyan said the risk of death is high when patients do not receive appropriate antibiotic treatment in time.
Pneumonic plague usually appears within 1 to 3 days of exposure, and contacts are monitored for 7 days.
Vasily Vlassov, a professor at the Higher School of Economics in Russia, said the measures taken appeared sensible, focusing on treating the sick, isolating them and their contacts, searching for new cases and carrying out final disinfection.
