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Akbar Novruz

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Russian authorities have introduced anti-epidemic measures in the Siberian region of Irkutsk following the death of a woman suspected of having contracted plague.

Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said on Friday that he had met with the regional head of Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s consumer rights and public health watchdog, to discuss what he described as “a suspected case of a regional resident with a particularly dangerous infection.”

The woman died on Friday in Shelekhov, a town on the outskirts of the city of Irkutsk, according to the regional outlet People of Baikal.

Local authorities subsequently imposed quarantine restrictions at the hospital where the suspected case was handled.

Shelekhov Mayor Maxim Modin said laboratory testing had been suspended at the facility, while the admission of new patients and discharge of those already receiving treatment had also been halted.

Russian authorities are “implementing a full range of anti-epidemic measures,” Kobzev said.

An unspecified number of people have been placed under medical observation as authorities work to identify and monitor individuals who may have had contact with the deceased woman.

Local Russian media reported that around 200 people had so far been identified as possible contacts.

The authorities have not yet confirmed that the woman died from plague, and the case remains under investigation pending further testing.

Plague is a bacterial infectious disease caused by Yersinia pestis. Although historically associated with major epidemics, it is now treatable with antibiotics, particularly when diagnosed and treated at an early stage.