Russia denies imposing anti-plague measures after lab worker death

Russia denies plague cases after laboratory technician’s death; US demands ‘transparency’ as WHO monitors situation.

What we know about Russia’s suspected plague case

Russian authorities have denied that they imposed anti-plague measures after a laboratory technician died of suspected pneumonic plague in a case which has drawn international scrutiny.

Russian media reported that a 28-year-old woman named Darya Shipilova , who had been working at the Irkutsk Anti-plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, died from suspected pneumonic plague on Friday.

list 1 of 3 Bubonic plague in China not a high risk: WHO

list 2 of 3 China plague claims third victim

list 3 of 3 Madagascar has the plague: What you should know

Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s health watchdog, said on Tuesday that no cases of plague had been detected among staff who had come ⁠into contact with the laboratory worker for the past 10 days.

“This included identifying the widest possible circle of individuals who had been in contact with the patient and arranging for them to be placed under medical observation in hospital with daily laboratory tests,” the watchdog said.

The institute said in a statement that extensive testing during an autopsy on the woman’s body found no microorganisms linked to her work at the anti-plague institute.

It said results had revealed two cases of COVID-19 and two cases of rhinovirus infection, but that no pathogens causing other infectious diseases had been detected.

Elena Sofina, deputy head of the Shelekhov district near Irkutsk, where a local hospital was placed under quarantine, said no “dangerous diagnosis” had been confirmed.

She added that 60 percent of ⁠those placed under quarantine as a precaution had already been released.

Local media said about 200 people ⁠had previously been quarantined.

A view of the Medical Assistance and Rescue Centre, an infectious diseases hospital, in the town of Shelekhov in the Irkutsk region, Russia, October 5, 2026 [Reuters]

US Secretary ⁠of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday it was incumbent on Moscow to share more information on Friday.

“Anytime you hear there is a disease that infected someone in a lab anywhere in the world, you’re going to be concerned about it, especially given recent events not so long ago in 2020 and 2021 when we saw that happen. That said, it would be irresponsible for me to sit here and speculate,” Rubio said.

The World Health Organization in Geneva said on Tuesday that Russia had told it there were no ⁠cases of plague in the city of Irkutsk.

It was unclear if this meant that the laboratory technician’s death was unrelated to plague infection.

Plague is a bacterial disease that can occur in several forms, including pneumonic plague, which is the most contagious type and can be transmitted by respiratory means. Bubonic plague is transmitted by infected fleas.

Pneumonic plague, which causes lung failure, can be fatal if not treated early, according to the WHO.

俄罗斯实验室技术员死亡后否认出现鼠疫病例；美国要求“透明”，世卫组织正在监测情况。

我们对俄罗斯疑似鼠疫病例的了解

俄罗斯当局否认在一名实验室技术员疑似死于肺鼠疫后采取了防鼠疫措施，该事件引起了国际社会的关注。

俄罗斯媒体报道称，一名28岁的女子达里娅·希皮洛娃（Darya Shipilova）在西伯利亚和远东伊尔库茨克抗鼠疫研究所工作，于周五死于疑似肺鼠疫。

世界卫生组织：中国鼠疫风险不高（共3个名单，此为第1个）

中国鼠疫夺走第三条生命（共三条记录中的第二条）

列表 3/3 马达加斯加爆发瘟疫：你应该知道什么

俄罗斯联邦消费者权益保护和福利监督局（Rospotrebnadzor）周二表示，在过去10天与该实验室工作人员接触过的员工中，没有发现鼠疫病例。

“这包括确定与患者有过接触的最广泛的人员范围，并安排他们在医院接受医学观察，每天进行实验室检查，”监管机构表示。

该研究所在一份声明中表示，对该女子遗体进行尸检期间的广泛检测发现，没有发现与她在抗疫研究所的工作有关的微生物。

报告称，检测结果显示有两例新冠肺炎病例和两例鼻病毒感染病例，但未检测到其他传染病病原体。

伊尔库茨克附近谢列霍夫区的副区长埃琳娜·索菲娜表示，当地一家医院已被隔离，但尚未确诊任何“危险的诊断”。

她补充说，作为预防措施而被隔离的人中，已有 60% 被解除隔离。

当地媒体称，此前约有200人被隔离。

2026年10月5日，俄罗斯伊尔库茨克州舍列霍夫市的医疗援助和救援中心（一家传染病医院）一景。[路透社]

美国国务卿马可·卢比奥周二表示，莫斯科有义务在周五分享更多信息。

“任何时候，只要听说世界任何地方的实验室里有人感染了某种疾病，你都会感到担忧，尤其是在2020年和2021年我们目睹了类似事件发生之后。话虽如此，我坐在这里妄加猜测是不负责任的，”鲁比奥说道。

世界卫生组织日内瓦总部周二表示，俄罗斯方面告知该组织，伊尔库茨克市没有鼠疫病例。

目前尚不清楚这是否意味着该实验室技术员的死亡与鼠疫感染无关。

鼠疫是一种细菌性疾病，可分为多种类型，其中包括传染性最强的肺鼠疫，可通过呼吸道传播。腺鼠疫则由受感染的跳蚤传播。

世界卫生组织表示，肺鼠疫会导致肺衰竭，如果不及时治疗可能会致命。