Siberia on edge after plague institute worker's death sparks outbreak fears

A tense situation has developed in Russia's Irkutsk region after a 28-year-old laboratory worker at a plague research institute, Darya Shipilova, died under unclear circumstances. She died on the night of October 2 in the intensive care unit of a hospital in the Shelekhov district, having been placed on a ventilator before her death.

According to colleagues and independent media reports, on September 25, while handling biological material, she accidentally broke a test tube containing the dangerous bacterium Yersinia pestis, which causes plague. Doctors initially suspected a severe Covid-19 infection, but her worsening condition prompted tests for other dangerous infections.

Quarantine imposed

Following her death, around 200 people were placed under observation, several hospitals in Irkutsk were closed for three weeks, and mask-wearing was made mandatory at an aluminum plant in Shelekhov. Residents report seeing people in protective suits in the streets, masks being distributed in kindergartens, and local medics openly discussing plague, even though the official version does not confirm this.

Conflicting statements

Irkutsk region governor Igor Kobzev initially spoke of an "especially dangerous infection," while a notice from the city of Baikalsk urging residents to avoid Shelekhov was quickly deleted. Buryatia's head, Alexei Tsydenov, first mentioned plague before softening his wording. On Sunday, Russia's consumer protection agency Rospotrebnadzor declared the situation stable, attributing the death to "pneumonia of unknown origin" and denying any link to the woman's professional work.

US-based epidemiologist Mikhail Favorov expressed doubt about the broken-test-tube explanation, noting that institute staff wear special protective suits. The White House confirmed it is monitoring the situation, though experts themselves say conclusions about a possible wider outbreak would be premature.