Russia investigates researcher’s death as conflicting reports fuel plague concerns

Russian authorities are investigating the death of a 28-year-old researcher at an anti-plague institute in Siberia after conflicting reports raised concern about possible exposure to pneumonic plague. Nearly 200 people were reportedly placed under medical observation, but authorities have not confirmed that plague caused the woman’s illness or that a wider outbreak exists. The researcher was identified by India Today as Darya Shipilova, who worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute.

She developed severe pneumonia, was admitted to hospital on 29 September and died two days later after being placed on a ventilator. NDTV described her death as an apparent case of pneumonic plague, but its account did not provide an official confirmation. Russia’s public-health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, reportedly described the illness as pneumonia of unknown cause.

It said no microorganisms associated with the researcher’s professional work had been detected in her body, according to India Today. The agency’s position conflicts with other reports that treated plague as the likely explanation. One account said Shipilova told medical staff that she had accidentally broken a test tube containing live bacteria.

She reportedly became ill during a field expedition in neighbouring Buryatia, near Russia’s border with Mongolia, before being transferred to Shelekhov Hospital. That explanation has not been independently established in the supplied material. Authorities traced people who may have been in contact with her.

India Today reported that nearly 200 people were placed under quarantine or medical observation at the Shelekhov hospital, while an alternative account said hundreds were quarantined and five hospitals were shut. The reports do not reconcile the different numbers or identify all the affected hospitals. Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said identified contacts were under medical supervision, had no symptoms and tested negative, according to India Today.

An aluminium plant near the laboratory required employees to wear masks as a precaution. Its director urged residents not to be influenced by rumours and conflicting accounts. Senior health officials have been involved in the response.

Russia’s chief state sanitary doctor, Anna Popova, travelled to Siberia and attended an emergency meeting of the regional sanitary and anti-epidemic commission. Kobzev said officials had received information about a suspected case of a “particularly dangerous infectious disease”, without initially naming it. The key unresolved question is whether plague was involved.

The head of neighbouring Buryatia, Alexei Tsydenov, said the woman had died “possibly from the plague” but also said there was no plague outbreak in Buryatia. Gennady Onishchenko, a former head of Rospotrebnadzor, said the infection was most likely not plague, according to the report. Pneumonic plague is one form of infection caused by Yersinia pestis and affects the lungs.

Unlike bubonic plague, which is commonly associated with infected fleas, it can spread between people through respiratory droplets. The supplied reports give no confirmed diagnosis, additional infections or evidence of community transmission. Authorities have urged reliance on official information while the investigation continues.