No plague cases among contacts of Russian lab worker who died

Russian health authorities have confirmed there are no cases of plague following the death of a young employee at a plague research institute in Irkutsk, southeastern Siberia.

Officials stated that the health and epidemiological situation in the region remains under control.

According to the Associated Press, the case involves the death of Daria Shipilova, 28, who worked at the Irkutsk Institute for Plague Research. Authorities announced that she died from an unidentified pneumonia, not plague, and that around 200 people who had contact with her have been placed under medical observation as a precaution.

The case has sparked debate due to the nature of her work, as the institute specializes in studying infectious diseases, including plague. This led some media outlets to speculate about possible exposure to Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague.

Russian media reports suggested Shipilova may have been exposed after a laboratory accident involving a broken test tube containing the agent responsible for pneumonic plague. The newspaper Lyudi Baikal cited sources saying the incident occurred on September 25, and that she began feeling ill shortly afterward.

Irkutsk region governor Igor Kobzev said a panel of experts investigated the circumstances of her death and concluded it was caused by unidentified pneumonia. Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, known as Rospotrebnadzor, also stated that tests found no microorganisms in her biological samples that could be linked to her professional activities.