Inside the Russian town grappling with plague scare
Russia has downplayed the plague scare but on the streets of Shelekhov - the town on the frontlines of the incident - rumours have filled the information abyss.
A woman died from suspected plague in the Siberian town of Shelekhov last week, prompting global concern and criticism over Russia's handling of the incident. Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old lab worker, was hospitalized and later died of an unknown pneumonia. Initial Russian authorities claimed her death was due to pneumonia of an unknown cause and that no plague infection was found.
However, local reports suggested she may have contracted the disease at the Irkutsk anti-plague institute after breaking a test tube. The World Health Organization is monitoring the situation and calling for transparency from Russian authorities. Rumors and speculation have filled the information void, leading to widespread fear and mistrust among the townspeople.
Neighboring Mongolia has tightened health surveillance, and the United States offered to help Russia, though the suggestion was met with skepticism in Shelekhov.
Written by urgent.news from RTE News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
