A plague scare has emerged after a 28-year-old employee of Russia’s Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute died following severe pneumonia.
Daria Shipilova was hospitalised on September 29 and died on October 2. Russian health authorities have officially described the cause as pneumonia of unknown aetiology and have not confirmed that she had plague.
Reports from Russian and international media have suggested that Shipilova may have been exposed to Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, following a possible laboratory incident. Russian authorities have not confirmed those reports.
More than 200 contacts monitored
More than 60 colleagues at the institute were placed in isolation, while around 200 people who may have come into contact with Shipilova were placed under medical observation.
Several hospitals in the Irkutsk area also introduced precautionary restrictions following her death.
Russia’s public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said tests on biological samples from Shipilova did not detect microorganisms associated with her professional activities. It also said no incident involving dangerous microorganisms had been recorded at the institute.
No confirmed new case of plague has been reported among her contacts.
“BREAKING: 5 hospitals have been closed for quarantines in Siberia due to a possible plague outbreak. The 28-year-old lab technician Darya Shipilova, died yesterday after breaking a test tube with live Yersinia pestis the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute on September 25th while handling samples. A mask mandate has now been introduced at the huge aluminum plant in Irkutsk. Some U.S. politicians are now calling for commercial air travel to and from Russia to be stopped until the situation is clarified. This first symptoms of pneumonic plague typically start about 4 to 7 days after exposure. 200 people are under observation.
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) October 4, 2026
Officials say situation is under control
Irkutsk regional Governor Igor Kobzev said the sanitary and epidemiological situation remained stable and that known contacts had been identified and placed under medical observation.
The precautionary measures have nevertheless fuelled speculation, particularly after reports claimed that a test tube containing plague bacteria may have broken at the institute. That account has not been confirmed by Russian authorities.
What is pneumonic plague?
Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and mainly circulates among small mammals and their fleas.
Pneumonic plague affects the lungs and can spread between people through respiratory droplets during close contact. It can become severe quickly, but antibiotics can be effective when treatment begins promptly.
The World Health Organization continues to monitor plague globally, although the disease is treatable with antibiotics when diagnosed early.
US and Europe monitoring case
The case has also drawn international attention. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was monitoring the situation closely, while the US State Department said it was aware of reports of a suspected pneumonic plague case and was coordinating with the CDC and other agencies.
The White House has also been monitoring reports surrounding the death and the subsequent quarantines.
US President Donald Trump said Washington was willing to help Russia, describing plague as a serious disease.
For now, there is no official confirmation that Shipilova died from plague or that an outbreak has occurred in the region. The case remains under investigation, with authorities continuing to monitor those who came into contact with her.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the U.S. is “watching and monitoring it closely” when asked about reports that a female scientist in Russia might have died of exposure to the plague after a lab accident. “I don’t think it’s cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause to just keep an eye on it, and we’re doing that,” Rubio said.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 5, 2026
Also read: Siberia: 28-year-old woman dies in suspected pneumonic plague case
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