Russia Says a Siberian Plague Lab Worker's Death Poses No Epidemic Risk, but Questions Remain

Russia's public health watchdog said Wednesday there is no risk of an epidemic in Siberia after the death of a young worker at a plague research institute, and that it is scaling back the precautions it put in place. But officials still haven't said what killed her, and the World Health Organization is pressing for an answer.

What happened

The worker, identified by her mother and Russian media as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova, worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. She died around Oct. 2 in a hospital in Shelekhov, a town just outside Irkutsk. The watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, has said she died of pneumonia of unknown origin.

Unconfirmed reports in Russian media said she may have broken a test tube containing the plague bacterium in late September and then developed pneumonic plague, the most dangerous form of the disease, which can spread between people and is fatal if not treated, according to CBS News. Russian officials have rejected that account, saying there was no lab accident and that testing found no sign of the microbes she worked with.

Quarantine winding down

Nearly 200 people who had contact with her were initially placed under medical observation, and the hospital where she was treated was closed for quarantine, according to NBC News. On Tuesday, Rospotrebnadzor said testing of her contacts had turned up two COVID-19 cases and two cases of a common cold virus, and nothing else. On Wednesday, the agency said roughly 90% of those quarantined had been released after nearly 5,000 lab tests found no dangerous pathogens, Al Arabiya reported. It also said she had been vaccinated against the infections she worked with.

International concern

The case has drawn attention far beyond Russia. The WHO said Russian officials told it that no plague cases had been recorded in Irkutsk, but it is still waiting to learn which pathogen caused her pneumonia. The U.S. State Department referred to reports of a suspected pneumonic plague case, and President Donald Trump said he had a call scheduled with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss it. The CDC said there is no sign of a broader threat to the United States. Some of Russia's neighbors have tightened health checks at border crossings.

The Kremlin has urged people to rely on official statements. Asked whether lab results or an autopsy would be released, spokesman Dmitry Peskov deferred to the health watchdog.