Darya Shipilova is said to have been exposed to the pathogen while working at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia

Hundreds of people have been placed into quarantine in Siberia after a laboratory worker died of suspected plague, according to reports.

Darya Shipilova, an employee at the Anti-Plague Research Institute in Shelekhov, was exposed to the bacteria after she accidentally broke a test tube containing the pathogen while she was collecting samples, the Kyiv Independent reported.

She was hospitalised on 29 September with severe pneumonia of "unknown origin” and placed on a ventilator, but died shortly after.

Independent Russian outlet Lyudi Baikal reported that several hospitals in the city of Irkutsk had closed for a three-week quarantine.

      • FlyingCircus@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Of course there is. The assumptions that the Anti-Plague Research Institute is a bioweapon facility, or that big bad Russia can manufacture an immediately fatal and incurable strain of the plague are both fear-mongering statements that wouldn’t be made about any neutral country.

        • RudeOnTuesdays@lemmy.world
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          24 hours ago

          This facility is funded and/or controlled by the Russian government. Being critical of the Russian government is not Russophobia. That is like saying criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic.

          Now if you had said this was a conspiracy theory I might be inclined to agree.

          • FlyingCircus@lemmy.world
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            16 hours ago

            Jumping to conclusions about a bioweapon is not criticism of a state. There has to be some kind of basis in reality for it to be criticism and not just fearmongering.

            Lab accidents are not uncommon, the entire point of this article is to instill Russophobia.

            • RudeOnTuesdays@lemmy.world
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              13 hours ago

              Russophobia is fear of Russians. If this happened in the U.S. and someone made this comment, would you make claims of “America-phobia?”

        • HexesofVexes@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          Please indicate the case specifying Russia in there? It’s certainly pessimistic (gain of function studies being a somewhat contentious subject), but not aggressive to a specific nation.

          They might just be they played too much RE as a kid.

      • laz@pawb.social
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        2 days ago

        Not directly but it’s in the DNA of the message. They wouldn’t have made the same comment I’d wager if this was in a French lab or Czech lab.

        • RudeOnTuesdays@lemmy.world
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          24 hours ago

          I don’t know what they would have or would have not posted. Being critical of the Russian government is not Russophobia anyway.