Siberia hospitals quarantine five sites after lab technician dies from plague exposure

Five hospitals in Siberia have been closed for quarantine following a possible plague outbreak.

Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old lab technician, died after breaking a test tube with live Yersinia pestis at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute on September 25.

Nearly 200 people are isolated or under medical observation following potential exposure.

Reports on the incident describe it variously as a plague outbreak, a suspected plague infection, or a lethal virus outbreak.

For Indian students, researchers, and travelers monitoring health developments in Russia, five medical facilities remain under quarantine following the reported exposure.