A young laboratory technician who died in a few days, a possible test tube containing the plague bacterium, hundreds of contacts subjected to checks and an official Russian version which excludes, at least for now, an accident in the laboratory and the presence of the pathogen in the victim’s body. This is the case of Irkutsk, in Siberia, which brought pneumonic plague back to the center of world attention.
The death of Darya Shipilova and the story of the broken test tube
The woman was identified by local media as Darya Shipilova, 28, an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute for Siberia and the Far East. Last September 25, Shipilova accidentally broke a test tube containing the pneumonic plague agent. The circumstance was initially reported by local journalist Pavel Stepanov and other Russian media, but was not confirmed by health authorities. Shipilova then felt ill, was hospitalized in Shelekhov and died on the night of October 2.
International media place the hospitalization on September 29, four days after the alleged accident, and confirm that the woman had severe pneumonia. The death occurred between October 1st and 2nd. If it were confirmed that viable Yersinia pestis, the plague pathogen, was present in the test tube and that Shipilova was exposed, a possible dynamic would be compatible with what the WHO describes for this infection: the bacterium can enter the body through contact with infected material or through inhalation of respiratory or infected particles. The incubation period varies between 1 and 7 days.
Two hypotheses are being examined: that the patient contracted the disease in Thailand, from where she had recently returned, or that she was infected following the accidental breakage of a test tube containing pathogens in the workplace.
The Kremlin exposes itself: “No accidents in the laboratory”
The Russian authorities immediately denied the most alarming rumors circulating about the incident. A plague epidemic in Siberia has not been officially confirmed. The Kremlin called for calm and urged people to rely exclusively on information from the Russian consumer protection agency, Rospotrebnadzor.
“We must stick to the official statement from Rospotrebnadzor and ignore rumors and speculation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a press briefing. Peskov added that the agency employs “highly qualified professionals, we listen to their official statements.” And Russian health authorities maintain that not even the dead woman was infected by a microorganism she worked with. On October 2, the governor of the Irkutsk region, Igor Kobzev, announced an extraordinary meeting of the health and epidemiological commission with the head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova. The formula used was extremely conservative: the suspicion of a “particularly dangerous infection” was being verified.
Kobzev already communicated then that all the contacts identified had been placed under health surveillance and that they showed no symptoms, with negative laboratory tests. Two days later, Rospotrebnadzor’s clearer position arrived: the diagnosis for the employee’s death was “pneumonia of undetermined etiology”. More detailed tests, the agency claims, would not have detected “microorganisms associated with his professional activity” in his samples. In the inspection in the research center: according to Rospotrebnadzor, “no emergency situations were detected” during work with pathogenic microorganisms.
The regional government also denied rumors that Irkutsk’s hospitals were all under quarantine or closed, claiming that the city’s facilities were operating normally. In Shelekhov, however, restrictions had actually been introduced in the hospital where the young woman had been admitted.
EU and White House “monitor the situation”
A Trump administration official told ad Axios that the White House is monitoring reports from Russia and is “aware” of the situation and is “evaluating options.” A State Department official told ad Al Jazeera that Washington is aware of reports of a “suspected fatal case of pneumonic plague” in the Irkutsk region and is following the situation together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Many details have not been confirmed,” the official added, calling on Russian authorities to provide accurate information “quickly and openly.”
The European Commission is “in contact with the ECDC” and “monitors very carefully” what is happening in Irkutsk, in Central Siberia, where a researcher who worked at the Irkutsk Anti Plague Institute died from pneumonia of unknown origin, which led the authorities to adopt extensive anti-epidemic measures, given the work the victim did. Health spokeswoman Eva Hrncirova says so in Brussels.
The Yersinia Pestis bacterium, responsible for bubonic and pneumonic plague, “has been absent from Europe for about 50 years”, recalls the spokeswoman, and is “treatable with antibiotics”. The ECDC, he assures, “has its own channels for obtaining information” on the situation in Siberia. Finally, Hrncirova underlines that “timely and transparent communication is essential” in cases like these.
Is there really a plague epidemic in Siberia?
Overall, WHO emphasizes that for pneumonic plague, timely treatment, ideally within the first 24 hours of the onset of symptoms, is crucial. Globally, the plague has not disappeared. Between 2019 and 2025, ten countries reported suspected human cases and six confirmed cases. Overall, 3,847 suspected cases and 423 deaths have been recorded, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar.
Hantavirus, the silent epidemic caused by the changing climate
At the moment, based on the available information, it cannot be said that a plague epidemic is underway in Siberia. However, the picture is still too fragmented: there is the documented death of an employee of an institute that works with dangerous pathogens and an initial reaction by the Russian authorities sufficiently important to have led to surveillance of contacts, anti-epidemic measures and the arrival in Irkutsk of the federal manager of Rospotrebnadzor. For the local media, it all started with the breaking of a test tube containing the plague bacterium. The case remains open until new and more solid news.