Russian authorities have told the World Health Organization (WHO) that no cases of plague have been recorded in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, casting further
doubt on reports that a laboratory researcher died from suspected pneumonic plague. The statement came as local media reported that a second person had died in the Irkutsk region, although there has been no official confirmation that the death was linked to plague. The WHO said Russian authorities had told the agency that the illness suffered by the researcher, 28-year-old Daria Shipilova, initially appeared to be a typical acute respiratory viral infection. "The Russian authorities… told WHO that the woman's illness first looked like a typical acute respiratory viral infection, and that no case of plague has been recorded in Irkutsk," a WHO spokesperson said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. The agency said it had asked Russia for further information about the pathogen that caused the woman's pneumonia and remained ready to provide assistance. The WHO made the request on 3 October under the International Health Regulations, which require countries to share information about potential public health emergencies. The case has attracted international attention after reports that Shipilova, who worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, died on 2 October after reportedly being exposed to live bacteria. Hundreds of people who had been in contact with her were reportedly placed under medical observation or quarantine. Reports of Second Death The uncertainty surrounding the case grew on Tuesday after local media reported that a second person had died in the Irkutsk region. It remains unclear whether the reported death was connected to Shipilova's case or whether the person had been exposed to plague. Russian authorities have maintained that the researcher died from pneumonia of an unidentified cause rather than confirmed plague. The WHO has also said it is seeking more information about the pneumonia-causing pathogen. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was aware of reports of a suspected pneumonic plague case in the Irkutsk region that resulted in a death. "We are working across the U.S. government to assess developments as additional information becomes available," the CDC said. It stressed that the reported case remained unconfirmed. "While the circumstances of this reported case remain unconfirmed, plague is a serious bacterial disease that is treatable with antibiotics, particularly when recognized and treated early," it said. Pneumonic plague can spread between people through respiratory droplets during close contact. The CDC said rapid identification and treatment, along with monitoring people who may have been exposed, were important measures. It added that there was currently "no indication of a broader threat to the United States". Experts Raising Questions The reported response by Russian authorities has prompted questions from biosecurity experts, although there is no public evidence that a biological weapon was involved. Dr Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said some elements of the reported response appeared unusual for a routine plague investigation. "Today, Russia notified the WHO that it was not plague," he told Newsweek. He pointed to reports of people being placed under observation, hospitals being secured and specialist personnel being sent to the region. "The way they were reacting to the cases in terms of the contacts, the hospital, the hazmat suits, the head of their equivalent of the CDC flying there, was incongruent with the plague response," he said. Kevin Esvelt, an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a biosecurity researcher, also questioned the reported containment measures. "The obvious reason to lock down hospitals and deploy FSB agents and hazmat personnel, which Russia reportedly has done, is to contain a potentially transmissible biological agent before it spreads," he wrote on X. "The question is why they will not tell the world which one."
