Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old employee at the anti-plague institute in the city of Irkutsk, became ill at work [E4] and died two days later on the night of 2 October at a regional hospital in the nearby town of Shelekhov [E5].
Rospotrebnadzor, Russia's health watchdog, said she died from "pneumonia of unknown aetiology," that tests found no micro-organisms linked to her professional work, and that the "sanitary and epidemiological" situation in the area was stable; Irkutsk's governor gave the same cause for her biological samples, and Russian authorities say there is currently no evidence the illness was connected to pathogens she worked with at the institute [E7][E8][E11][E16]. Alexey Tsydenov, the head of neighbouring Buryatia, initially wrote that she had died of plague, then edited his post to say she had "possibly" died of the disease [E6].
A relative, Roman, told the news portal Siberia.Realities: "They've been isolating everybody since Friday – more than 60 people." [E9] Russian media reported last week that nearly 200 people known to have had contact with her were under medical observation as a precaution [E14]. Anna Popova, the head of Rospotrebnadzor and the country's chief sanitary doctor, travelled to Irkutsk on Friday [E19]. Igor Kobzev, the governor of the Irkutsk region, urged residents to remain calm after meeting Popova to coordinate the response [E18]. "All identified contacts have been placed under medical observation. As of today, none is showing signs of illness and laboratory tests have returned negative results," he wrote on Telegram [E10].
The lab, which was established under the former Soviet Union in 1934, carries out scientific research on plague control, vaccine development and epidemic prevention, as well as work on other dangerous infectious diseases like cholera, brucellosis and anthrax [E17]. The watchdog said a biological safety team had inspected the Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East in Irkutsk and found no emergency situation there [E12]. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged people not to "listen to various rumours" but "rely on Rospotrebnadzor's official statements" instead [E13].
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has said the US is closely monitoring the case of a Russian laboratory worker who died last week after a reported accident at a plague research institute in Siberia [E1]. "We're watching and monitoring it closely," Rubio said on Monday before leaving for a trip to Europe [E2]. "I don't think it's cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause just to keep an eye on it." [E3] Asked what Washington was going to do about the risk of plague spreading from Russia, Trump said he had not spoken to the Kremlin about it [E20]. "I hate to see them having it," he said, but added: "We'll help. Everybody who has that kind of a problem, we'll always help." [E15]
An unexplained pneumonia in a worker at a plague institute can be ordinary illness on a frightening payroll; isolating everybody when the cause is still unknown is also the ordinary drill. A laboratory result that names a pathogen in her samples, or a second confirmed illness among those under observation, would settle which reading is true. The people around her are still being watched, and the public account of why she died has not closed.