Russia Denies Imposing Plague Measures After Lab Worker's Death
Theo Al Jazeera English
Russian authorities say no plague cases have been detected after a 28-year-old laboratory technician died in Siberia from suspected pneumonic plague, while the US calls for transparency and the WHO monitors the situation. The institute where she worked says expanded autopsy testing found no plague pathogens, reporting instead COVID-19 and rhinovirus infections.
Russian authorities have rejected claims that the country imposed plague prevention measures after a female laboratory technician died from suspected pneumonic plague in Siberia — a case that has drawn international scrutiny.
According to Russian media, the victim was Darya Shipilova, 28, who worked at the Irkutsk Plague Control Research Institute, which covers the Siberian and Far East regions. She died on Friday amid suspicions she had contracted pneumonic plague.
On Tuesday, Russia's health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said no plague cases had been detected among staff who had contact with the technician over the past 10 days. The agency said it had identified the "broadest possible" circle of people who had been in contact with the patient and placed them under medical observation in hospital, with daily testing.
The research institute where the victim worked said in a statement that expanded testing during the autopsy found no microorganisms linked to her work at the plague control institute. The results showed two cases of COVID-19 and two cases of rhinovirus, but no pathogens causing other infectious diseases were detected.
Elena Sofina, deputy head of the Shelekhov district near Irkutsk — where a local hospital had been locked down — said no "dangerous diagnosis" had been confirmed. She said 60 percent of those quarantined as a precaution had been released. Local media had earlier reported that about 200 people were quarantined.
![A view of the Medical Assistance and Rescue Centre, an infectious diseases hospital, in the town of Shelekhov in the Irkutsk region, Russia, October 5, 2026 [Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2026-10-05T123405Z_1235629747_RC2XWNA9BRLQ_RTRMADP_3_RUSSIA-SIBERIA-PLAGUE-1791289671.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C578&quality=80)
Calls for transparency
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Moscow had a responsibility to share more information. "Every time you hear about an infectious disease infecting someone in a laboratory anywhere in the world, you worry, especially in the context of recent events in 2020 and 2021. Still, it would be irresponsible for me to sit here and speculate," Rubio said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva said on Tuesday that Russia had notified it that there were no plague cases in the city of Irkutsk. It remains unclear whether this means the technician's death was unrelated to plague infection.
Plague is a bacterial disease that can take several forms, with pneumonic plague being the most contagious and transmissible through the respiratory tract. Bubonic plague is spread by infected fleas. According to the WHO, pneumonic plague causes respiratory failure and can be fatal if not treated early.
