Tue 06 October 2026:
The World Health Organization said Tuesday it is “following closely” the death of a laboratory worker in Russia’s Irkutsk Oblast following reports that pneumonic plague may have been the cause.
WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva that the woman died of severe pneumonia on October 2, though officials have not yet confirmed the cause of death.
Lindmeier said Russian authorities had responded to the WHO’s request for information, updating an earlier statement that Moscow had not yet formally replied through International Health Regulations (IHR) channels.
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According to information provided by Russian authorities, an epidemiological investigation was conducted after a case of community-acquired pneumonia was identified in an employee of the Irkutsk Scientific Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East.
“The illness initially presented as a typical acute respiratory viral infection,” Lindmeier said, reading from the Russian response.
“According to the test results, no pathogens of dangerous infectious diseases were detected among any of the contacts,” he added.
The WHO had contacted Russian authorities on Oct. 3 seeking information and offered support.
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“Based on unofficial information available, the public health risk to the general population appears to be low,” Lindmeier said.
Its initial assessment put the risk at “moderate to low” for Irkutsk, “low” for Russia overall and “very low” for the WHO European region.
Russian authorities have said the case involved pneumonia of unknown etiology and that no accidents were detected at a local anti-plague research institute.
No other cases of staff from the plague institute seeking medical attention since the lab technician’s death had been reported, Irkutsk governor Igor Kobzev said, quoting Russia’s consumer and health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor.
The watchdog said a biological safety team had inspected the Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East in Irkutsk and found no emergency situation there.
Daria Shipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory assistant at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, was the first reported fatality.
Daria Shipilova, 28, a laboratory assistant at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia, died of an illness.Daria Shipilova/e2w
She reportedly told medical staff that she had accidentally broken a test tube containing live bacteria while collecting samples for testing, according to news outlet Lyudi Baikala, or People of Baikal.
She first fell ill while on an expedition with other workers near Russia’s eastern border with Mongolia.
She was hospitalized in Shelekhov on Tuesday with symptoms of severe pneumonia, placed on a ventilator and died Thursday, according to reports.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged people not to “listen to various rumours” but “rely on Rospotrebnadzor’s official statements” instead.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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