Uzbekistan has increased the readiness of relevant services following the receipt of information about a case of a particularly dangerous infectious disease in the Irkutsk region of Russia. These measures are aimed at preventing the possible import and spread of the infection, according to the press service of the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare and Public Health.
The tightening of control followed reports of a suspected case of plague in the city of Shelekhov, Irkutsk region. Uzbek specialists are monitoring the developments, relying on official data from competent Russian authorities and the World Health Organization. Currently, an analysis is being conducted on the information regarding laboratory confirmation of the diagnosis, the possible source and mechanism of infection, as well as the movements of the patient and persons who came into contact with her.
The Committee urged citizens of Uzbekistan to refrain from spreading or accepting unverified information as factual. Additional information will be provided to the public if the epidemiological situation changes.
According to reports from Russian media, a 28-year-old woman died in the hospital of the Shelekhovsky district on the night of October 2. Following this incident, about 200 people were placed under medical observation. Russian media also reported that this woman worked at the Irkutsk Research Institute of Plague. One of the considered options is a possible incident in the laboratory, where a vial of the plague pathogen might have broken. The exact causes and circumstances are being clarified.
Some Russian publications suggested that the disease could have taken a pulmonary form of plague, but this information has not been officially confirmed at this time.
