Russia denies second illness in Siberian plague scare as WHO seeks test details

Russia’s public health watchdog rejected reports of a second illness linked to a laboratory worker’s death in the Irkutsk region on October 8, according to the Associated Press. The denial comes as the World Health Organization seeks test results and other details about the death and the quarantine of about 200 contacts. In nearby Shelekhov, residents have described uncertainty about what happened. A plague infection has not been confirmed.

Darya Shipilova, 28, worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute and died after being hospitalised with severe pneumonia. Russian authorities have described her illness as pneumonia of unknown origin. Initial media reports suggested pneumonic plague after an accidental laboratory exposure, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on October 7, but the WHO did not confirm that account.

What Russia has said about the reported second illness

Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s health and consumer watchdog, called reports that another person had fallen ill after contact with Shipilova fake, AP reported on October 8. The agency said extensive testing found no evidence that her illness was caused by pathogens she worked with. It also said it had found no emergency involving pathogens at the institute and that safety measures had been observed. Those findings are the watchdog’s account, as reported by AP.

The WHO gave a narrower account of what it knew. In remarks on October 7, Tedros said Russia had told the organisation that no recent plague case had been reported in Irkutsk oblast and that about 200 contacts had been placed in quarantine. The WHO had asked Russia for information on October 3 under the International Health Regulations and received that response on October 6.

Why the WHO says it cannot assess the risk fully

The WHO has requested more information about laboratory tests on Shipilova and her contacts, the health status of those contacts, and what prompted the public health measures. Tedros said the organisation did not yet have a full picture and could not conduct a full risk assessment. It has offered Russia technical support concerning plague and laboratory biosafety and biosecurity.

The distinction matters for interpreting the reports: a suspected infection, an official denial of a registered plague case and a quarantine are different pieces of information. The available statements do not establish a plague diagnosis or explain the full basis for the quarantine. They also leave the precise cause of Shipilova’s fatal pneumonia unresolved in the accounts available here.

How residents of Shelekhov describe the uncertainty

AFP reporting published by RTÉ described rumours circulating in Shelekhov after the death. Oksana, a 35-year-old who was in the maternity ward for observation, said she remained in the hospital for four days and was told people could not enter or leave after news of the death. Her account describes what she experienced; it does not establish the scope of restrictions elsewhere.

Alexandra Iskalova, who works in a medical centre, told AFP that people panicked when rumours spread without official statements. Another resident told AFP that masks had become compulsory at her younger brother’s school. These are residents’ accounts of local conditions, rather than a comprehensive account of public policy across the region.

CNN’s interviews found a range of responses. One Shelekhov resident, identified only as Evgeniya, said daily life felt normal but that rumours and distrust persisted: ‘There is no official information, and we don’t trust it anyway.’ Another resident said people were carrying on as usual and saw no need for alarm because contacts had been isolated. CNN said the residents it interviewed gave only first names for privacy.

A pharmacist in nearby Irkutsk told CNN that customers briefly stocked up on masks, antiseptics and tetracycline antibiotics after rumours emerged. She said the rush lasted one day and had stopped. That account describes demand at her workplace, not a region-wide pattern or a recommendation to take medication.

What information could clarify the incident

The unresolved questions are specific: what the laboratory tests showed, why approximately 200 contacts were quarantined, how those contacts are doing and whether the reported second employee illness occurred. The WHO’s request for those details remains the clearest published account of the information needed to assess the incident. Until those questions are answered, the death and the reported illness should not be described as confirmed plague cases.