Darya Shipilova, 28, died on 2 October after falling ill at the Irkutsk anti-plague institute. Russian authorities say tests found no work-related pathogen, while the US says it is monitoring the case.
Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old employee of the Irkutsk Anti-plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, became ill at work and died on the night of 2 October at a regional hospital in Shelekhov, The Guardian reported.
Rospotrebnadzor said she died of pneumonia of unknown aetiology. The agency said expanded testing found no microorganisms linked to her work and that an expert commission found no pathogen accident at the institute. Alexey Tsydenov, head of neighbouring Buryatia, first wrote that she had died of plague, then edited the post to say she had possibly died of the disease.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday the United States was watching closely and did not see cause for alarm, but did see cause to keep focus. Euronews reported that the EU was also monitoring a suspected pneumonic-plague report. NPR’s Tuesday programme listed the death as from an unknown cause.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, cited by The Guardian, said several Irkutsk hospitals were under quarantine and that institute staff had been kept inside since 2 October. Other accounts put the number under observation near 200. Those figures come from media reports, not a single official tally published here.
No outside agency has confirmed plague. The verified facts are a death after severe pneumonia, conflicting early local claims, a Russian finding of no work-related pathogen, and international monitoring.
People Sentiments Negative
- Marco Rubio said the case was not cause for alarm but was cause for focus.
- Alexey Tsydenov first wrote that the worker had died of plague, then amended the post to say she had possibly died of it.