Mystery in Siberia after 28-year-old laboratory technician dies: plague or pneumonia of unknown cause?

A 28-year-old laboratory technician has died in Siberia after being hospitalized with severe lung problems, raising concerns because of her work at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute.

The woman, identified by Russian media as Daria Sipilova, was admitted to the Shelekhov regional hospital on September 29. Her condition worsened and she was intubated, and she died in the early hours of October 2.

After her death, around 200 people who may have had contact with her were placed under medical observation. Epidemiological measures were also introduced in the area, while the hospital where she died was included in quarantine procedures.

The case was accompanied by reports that Sipilova may have contracted pneumonic plague. Some media outlets and Telegram channels claimed that a test tube containing the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which causes plague, had broken while she was working in the laboratory, but this account has not been officially confirmed.

Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian agency responsible for consumer protection and public health, said the diagnosis was “pneumonia of unspecified etiology.” Tests conducted on the patient’s biological samples found no microorganisms linked to her professional activities.

According to the same agency, no incidents were recorded while working with pathogens in the laboratory. The authorities have therefore denied claims of a laboratory accident and infection with pneumonic plague.

Sipilova was part of the Institute for Plague Research in Siberia and the Far East, a center specializing in the study and monitoring of the disease.

While around 200 people remain under observation, Russian authorities say the epidemiological situation in the region is stable. So far, no other cases of plague have been confirmed.

Rospotrebnadzor head Anna Popova traveled to Siberia to hold an emergency meeting with local officials and the sanitary and epidemiological commission.

Pneumonic plague can spread from person to person through respiratory droplets. However, so far there is no official evidence that such transmission occurred in the Irkutsk case.

According to Reuters, the World Health Organization currently considers the risk to public health to be low. Meanwhile, the authorities have begun tracing everyone who had contact with the laboratory technician.

The lack of official confirmation of plague, while around 200 people are under observation, has fueled speculation in Russian media and on social networks.

For now, attention is focused on the possibility of further cases emerging. Russian authorities insist there are no new cases of plague and that the situation is under control.