WHO seeks details after Siberian lab worker’s death as Russia reports no plague cases

Russian officials said no plague had been detected among people who had contact with Darya Shipilova, while WHO said it lacked information for a full assessment.

The 28-year-old researcher at an anti-plague institute in Irkutsk died on October 2 after an illness initially described as a typical acute respiratory viral infection. The circumstances of her death have not been disclosed. Authorities quarantined dozens of contacts and sent the head of Rospotrebnadzor to the region.

Russian officials said that by October 7, nearly 5,000 laboratory tests had found no dangerous pathogens. About 90% of people placed in quarantine had been released, and precautionary measures were being wound down. The agency said no plague cases had been detected among the contacts. Those findings do not establish the cause of the researcher’s death.

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, said the agency did not know what pathogen had caused the death. WHO requested more information from Russia. It initially assessed the risk to the public as low, but said on October 7 that it could not make a fuller assessment without more information.

Reports of possible pneumonic plague prompted concern, but authorities have not announced a confirmed case in this incident. Pneumonic plague is a rare and severe form of infection that can spread between people through respiratory particles. WHO says recovery rates are high when it is diagnosed and treated promptly. U.S. President Donald Trump said the death did not appear to be linked to a biological weapon, while the European Union called on Russia to provide timely and transparent information.