Russia denies plague death as nearly 200 contacts quarantined

Russian authorities denied imposing anti-plague measures after the death of Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. Euronews reported she was admitted to Shelekhov District Hospital in late September and died on Friday night; France 24 reported that, according to Russian media, she fell ill at work and died two days later. Rospotrebnadzor, Russia's health watchdog, said information about anti-plague measures "does not originate from official sources" and is "untrue," according to DW. Rospotrebnadzor said she died from "pneumonia of unknown aetiology" (unknown cause), Euronews reported, while Russian authorities said the cause of death is yet to be confirmed, according to DW.

Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said an inspection found the death was a result of pneumonia and that "no microorganisms linked to the young woman's professional work were found in her biological samples." Between 189 and 197 of Shipilova's contacts were placed under observation and quarantine, where initial tests returned negative, according to figures cited by independent and regional media and reported by Euronews. More than 60 institute staff members were effectively confined inside the facility for several days, and quarantine restrictions were imposed on hospitals in Irkutsk, including a maternity ward; patients at one facility said doctors cited plague as the reason, according to multiple outlets cited by Euronews. Elena Sofina, deputy head of the Shelekhov district, said no "dangerous diagnosis" had been confirmed and that 60 percent of those quarantined as a precaution had already been released, Al Jazeera reported.

The World Health Organization said the information it had received from Russia suggests that "no case" of the disease has so far been recorded in Irkutsk, and assessed the public health risk as low to moderate for the Irkutsk region, low for Russia as a whole and very low for its European region. It said Russian authorities had identified Shipilova's contacts and were monitoring them, and had detected no dangerous infectious disease agents among them. Rospotrebnadzor said no cases of plague had been detected among staff who had come into contact with her in the past 10 days, Al Jazeera reported. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control told Euronews it was "closely following the situation", and a representative said the suspicion of plague "has not yet been confirmed."

The head of the neighbouring Republic of Buryatia, Alexei Tsydenov, initially said Shipilova had died of plague, then amended this to "possibly plague", Euronews reported; France 24 reported the post was subsequently edited. Irkutsk regional authorities posted a message on Friday asking residents not to travel to the satellite town of Shelekhov because of plague, then deleted it, Euronews reported. Rospotrebnadzor said its special commissions had found no accidents involving pathogenic microorganisms at the institute, Euronews reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters to rely solely on Rospotrebnadzor's statements.

Unverified claims about how Shipilova became ill are circulating online, France 24 reported. The Telegram channels SHOT and Baza reported that she accidentally broke a test tube containing the plague pathogen, while other unverified claims said she fell ill after a field trip near the Mongolian border or after travelling to Thailand; France 24 said there is no evidence supporting any of these theories. Euronews reported that several specialists consider the test-tube theory unlikely, noting that work with high-risk pathogens is conducted inside sealed safety cabinets with protective suits and strict decontamination protocols. France 24 also reported that posts on X claimed the WHO had updated its plague fact sheet on the day Shipilova was admitted to hospital; the WHO updated its plague information on 29 September as part of a broader release on cholera, meningitis and plague, and France 24 said the timing does not establish a connection.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington is monitoring the situation and that Russia needs to "share more information with the world." President Donald Trump said he will discuss the case with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that US intelligence is in "very deep discussions" on the matter, calling the disease "rough." Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan strengthened sanitary controls at their borders with Russia, and Uzbekistan strengthened its public-health preparedness after reports of a suspected case of a particularly dangerous infectious disease, Euronews reported.