The mother of a deceased employee of the Irkutsk Scientific Research Anti-Plague Institute (Russia), Darya Shipilova, rejected the version that her daughter broke a vial containing the plague pathogen. Svetlana Shipilova stated that laboratory containers are protected from damage. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The woman spoke with journalists while in quarantine at one of Irkutsk's hospitals. As of October 5, she was not allowed to leave the medical facility. According to her, she was tested and swabbed daily.
"They are checking something, searching. Maybe they fear some other infection, so that we don't catch some kind of COVID," Svetlana Shipilova said.
She also reported that she had not yet received an official conclusion about her daughter's death.
"I am waiting for it to be official. Not just in the media, but from Rospotrebnadzor. It must be an official document," Shipilova stated.
Svetlana Shipilova called reports about the circumstances of her daughter's death a "show" and stated that she does not believe in the possibility of accidental damage to the vial.
"It is very hard for me right now. This show continues. Well, I don't want to read nasty things about the child. I know the truth. I fight off foolish acquaintances who believed all of this. Smart ones, of course, did not believe. Not all medics even understand that the vial cannot be broken. Even if you hurl it against a wall. Only a dilettante could say that. Even hypothetically, it is simply impossible to spill or break it. They are so protected," Svetlana Shipilova said.
At the time of the conversation with journalists, the farewell to Darya had not yet taken place. Her mother said that the girl got a job at the institute after completing an internship.
"Dasha has not been buried yet. Who will bury her if we are sitting here in confinement? She was such a hard worker. A pure, such a pure little person. It is hard for her boss, because she knew Dasha and knew why she was hiring her. It is very hard to get in there, to the Anti-Plague Institute. She watched how Dasha worked, she did her internship there. She understood that this is a pure little person, such a workaholic," Shipilova said.
The woman also expressed complaints about how her daughter was provided assistance.
"I saved more than one such patient, but my daughter was not saved. My daughter was simply ruined, abandoned and ruined," Svetlana Shipilova stated.
28-year-old Darya Shipilova was hospitalized on September 29. She died in the night from October 1 to 2 at a hospital in the city of Shelekhov. After that, people who had contact with her were isolated and placed under medical observation.
The media circulated a version that the girl contracted plague after breaking a vial at the institute and concealing the incident. There is no confirmation of this version. Rospotrebnadzor reported that the cause of death was pneumonia, and no emergency situations during work with pathogenic microorganisms were identified at the institute.
Earlier, "Kursiv" wrote that at the border of Kazakhstan with Russia, passengers are being checked for signs of dangerous infections. So far, no sick people or people with suspicious symptoms have been identified.