How pneumonic plague spreads after worker dies from disease in 'Russian lab accident'

Hundreds have been placed into quarantine after a young lab worker died from an unknown illness.

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

Reports suggested she was collecting samples in the laboratory, which contained the pathogen, when the incident occurred.

Local media has reported how Shipilova told medical staff she had accidentally broken a test tube 'holding live bacteria.'

She was taken to hospital on 29 September with severe pneumonia of 'unknown origin'. She was put on a ventilator but was later confirmed dead.

Authorities are now implementing a 'comprehensive set of anti-epidemic measures,' according to Maxim Modin, the mayor of the Shelekhovsky district in eastern Russia.

Two hundred people she came into contact with are now being closely monitored.

Plague bacteria Yersinia pestis (Getty)

The inpatient facility at the hospital where Shipilova was treated has since been placed under quarantine, as well as other hospitals in the region, according to local reports.

Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev issued a message on Telegram where he urged residents to remain calm. He confirmed that an anti-epidemic commission had met to address a 'suspected case of a particularly dangerous infection'.

Russia however have not confirmed any sort of 'outbreak', with the public health service conceding that the lab technician died of 'pneumonia of undetermined origin'.

According to Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian agency that handles infectious disease, 'no microorganisms associated with the employee’s professional duties were detected in samples taken from the patient'.

However the Moscow Times have reported that 189 people suspected of having the plague have been identified and hospitalised, as they remain under close watch.

The White House has also issued a statement, which read: “The Trump administration is aware of the outbreak, is monitoring it, and is evaluating options."

The incident reportedly happened in a lab (Getty)

What are the signs and how does it spread?

The pneumonic plague causes a severe lung infection, along with fever, shortness of breath and can result in coughing up blood.

It is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and results in a disease which is almost always fatal if left untreated.

Although antibiotics can reduce this rate and it is treatable providing antibiotics are administered within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms, according to the World Health Organisation.

It is highly contagious, and unlike the more common bubonic plague, which is transmitted via flea bites, it can spread from person to person through respiratory droplets.

These can be passed on through coughing or sneezing.