A maternity hospital in Irkutsk has begun screening pregnant women for possible plague infection

At the Irkutsk City Perinatal Center, pregnant patients have begun receiving questionnaires asking about possible exposure to the plague. Blogger Ulyana Gavryunina, who visited the maternity hospital for a checkup on October 5, told the publication “People of Lake Baikal” about this. Among the documents she was given was a “Checklist for Suspected Plague.”

The questionnaire asked patients about their well-being, contact with people who had arrived from abroad or with sick individuals, as well as whether they had a fever or a stuffy nose.

Since Friday, October 2, the perinatal center has been operating under an access control system. No one except pregnant patients is allowed inside the building. At the entrance, Gavryunina’s temperature was taken, and she was asked to stick out her tongue.

According to her, the center explained that the restrictions were implemented due to as-yet-unconfirmed information about a virus that is allegedly even more dangerous than the coronavirus. Currently, as she was told, it is unknown exactly what this virus is and how to deal with it, particularly given the presence of young children.

In addition, the medical facility has mandated the use of masks and temporarily banned partner-assisted childbirth. It is currently unknown when exactly the restrictions will be lifted.

The measures at the maternity hospital were introduced following the death of Daria Shipilova, a 27-year-old employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute. On September 29, she was hospitalized at the Shelekhov Hospital with symptoms of pneumonia, and she died a few days later.

According to one account, she may have become infected after a work trip to Buryatia. Another theory suggests that she accidentally broke a test tube containing the plague pathogen in the laboratory. Following this, the hospital was placed under quarantine, and 189 people who had come into contact with the deceased were hospitalized.

Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov urged the public not to trust rumors about a possible plague outbreak in the Irkutsk region and to rely on official statements from Rospotrebnadzor. The agency itself stated that following an “investigation and analysis” of the situation in the Irkutsk region, the sanitary and epidemiological situation remains “stable.”

Amid reports of the situation in the Russian region, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan have stepped up precautionary measures. In the U.S., the Donald Trump administration is also monitoring information about a suspected case of the plague and related quarantine measures in Russia.

This is being reported by Russian propaganda media.

A plague outbreak has occurred in Russia: the first victim has been reported.

The White House is monitoring a possible plague outbreak in Russia.

As a reminder, a plague outbreak has occurred in Russia, and there is already one fatality.

In Russia, nearly 200 people have been hospitalized after coming into contact with a woman who died of pneumonic plague.

Prior to this, the death of a woman from the plague was confirmed in Buryatia.