Russia has played down reports that a scientist in Siberia died after a laboratory accident involving plague bacteria, saying her death was caused by pneumonia of unknown origin.
Darya Shipilova, 28, worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, more than 2,500 miles east of Moscow. Russian media initially reported that she had broken a test tube containing plague bacteria in late September before developing severe pneumonia and dying.
Russian health authorities said there had been no accident at the institute and that no dangerous infection had been detected among those who came into contact with her.
Rospotrebnadzor, the country’s health watchdog, said it had carried out “anti-epidemic measures” and tested nearly 200 people linked to the scientist. Some had tested positive for colds or Covid, it said, but no pathogens causing dangerous infections were found.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged people to rely on official information from Rospotrebnadzor, describing it as the “lead agency with expertise in this area” and saying its professionals were “highly qualified”.
The head of the eastern Republic of Buryatia, Alexei Tsydenov, initially said Shipilova had died of plague in a post on the state-backed messaging app MAX. He later amended the post to include the word “possibly”, according to independent Russian media outlet Lyudi Baikala.
Local officials also briefly warned people not to visit Shelekhov, where Shipilova was treated and later died, citing “unofficial information” about a human plague case. The warning was deleted less than two hours later, according to Lyudi Baikala and Astra.
WHO says public health risk appears low
The World Health Organisation said Shipilova died of severe pneumonia overnight into 2 October. It said that, based on the unofficial information available, the risk to the general public appeared to be low.
The reports referred to Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague. Pneumonic plague affects the lungs and can cause fever and a cough that may become bloody; unlike bubonic plague, it can be transmitted from person to person.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the reports were not “cause for alarm”, but were “cause for focus”. He said there appeared to have been a laboratory worker who was infected and that there was concern the infection “could have spread”, while noting that travel between the United States and Russia was very limited.
