Plague symptoms to look out for as hundreds placed under observation after lab researcher dies

Nearly 200 people have reportedly been placed under medical observation in Siberia following the death of a laboratory researcher who developed severe pneumonia, amid concern that she may have been exposed t plague.

The woman, named in reports as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova, worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Russia.

Her death has prompted extensive precautions in the region, although as yet Russian authorities haven’t confirmed claims that she contracted pneumonic plague.

Shipilova was diagnosed with ‘pneumonia of unknown aetiology’, according to Russia’s public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, reports The Guardian.

The organisation has said additional testing did not detect microorganisms associated with her professional work.

It has been alleged that Shipilova may have been exposed to Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for plague, following an accident involving a test tube at the laboratory.

The young researcher worked in a laboratory which tested plague samples (Getty Stock)

The hospital where she was treated was placed under quarantine, while people believed to have had contact with her have been monitored as a precaution.

Officials have said the situation remains stable.

Plague symptoms

Pneumonic plague, while now rare, can become extremely serious very quickly.

Plague is a bacterial infection caused by Yersinia pestis.

The bacteria are generally found in small mammals and their fleas, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

There are several forms of the illness, with symptoms varying according to how the infection develops.

Symptoms of plague can include:

• Sudden fever and chills
• Headache and body aches
• Weakness or extreme tiredness
• Nausea and vomiting
• Painful, swollen lymph nodes, known as “buboes”
• Abdominal pain
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Coughing
• Bloody or watery mucus
• Bleeding into the skin or other organs in cases of septicaemic plague
• Blackening and death of tissue, particularly on the fingers, toes and nose, in severe septicaemic cases

Hundreds of people have now been quarantined (Getty Stock)

Pneumonic plague affects the lungs, and person-to-person transmission is possible.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says patients can develop ‘rapidly developing pneumonia’ accompanied by shortness of breath, chest pain and coughing.

Some people may produce bloody or watery mucus.

Symptoms of pneumonic plague can develop particularly quickly.

The WHO says plague symptoms generally appear between one and seven days after infection, but pneumonic plague can develop in as little as 24 hours.

The good news is, despite its frightening historical reputation, plague is treatable with modern antibiotics.

Early diagnosis is particularly important, however, because pneumonic and septicaemic forms can progress rapidly without treatment.

The WHO says antibiotic treatment is effective against the bacteria and that early diagnosis and treatment can save lives.

Health officials may also use preventive antibiotics for people who have had close contact with someone suspected of having pneumonic plague.

This is because the infection can spread through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, although prolonged close contact is generally required.

Plague is now uncommon worldwide and bears little resemblance to the uncontrolled outbreaks associated with the disease historically.

There is currently no indication that people outside those potentially exposed in Siberia need to take special precautions because of the incident.

Anyone who has had a credible exposure to plague and develops sudden fever, chills, swollen and painful lymph nodes, or respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath and coughing should seek urgent medical assistance.