Escalation: Irkutsk authorities quarantine nearly 200 contacts

Nearly 200 people linked to the case were placed under medical observation in the Irkutsk region. At least 197 contacts were identified, with more than 100 kept in hospital wards. The Shelekhov inpatient hospital that treated the worker was sealed for quarantine, stopping admissions and discharges.

Officials said she had pneumonia of unknown cause, and testing has not found any microorganisms tied to her lab work or any incident at the institute. Screening of contacts found two infections with a common cold virus and two with COVID-19, with others testing negative. No official cause of death has been confirmed.

The worker was identified as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute. She told clinicians she had accidentally broken a test tube containing live bacteria while collecting samples, then developed severe pneumonia, was put on a ventilator, and died Thursday after admission on Tuesday. Authorities canceled public events in Irkutsk and opened a criminal case over possible safety violations resulting in death.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources