Suspected pneumonic plague case linked to the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute. Official and independent claims are shown side by side.
The watchdog said false information about the sanitary and epidemiological situation in Irkutsk Region had been circulating in recent days.
Source ↗According to Russia’s watchdog, WHO confirmed that no new plague cases had been reported and that there were no risks of a sanitary-epidemiological emergency in Irkutsk Region.
Source ↗Igor Kobzev said no accidents involving pathogen handling were detected at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute and that proper oversight of this work had been confirmed.
Source ↗Radio Svoboda reports that quarantines were lifted in Irkutsk and the region and that nobody became ill with plague.
Source ↗Governor Igor Kobzev said authorities had completed a series of preventive measures following the death of institute employee Darya Shipilova. He said she had community-acquired pneumonia.
Source ↗Trump says “we don’t think” the Russian plague case is a bioweapon.
Source ↗NewsNation reports that a second Russian lab worker is possibly sick from plague and that WHO is investigating.
Source ↗Russia dismisses reports of a second plague case as “false information.”
Source ↗The U.S. issued a formal complaint over Russia's response to a suspected death related to a plague laboratory.
Source ↗WHO said Russia had reported no plague case following the death of an Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute laboratory worker.
Source ↗Russia says it properly informed WHO of the plague institute worker’s death and criticizes media coverage.
Source ↗WHO seeks more information from Russia on the Irkutsk lab worker’s death and says it is unable to complete its risk assessment.
Source ↗Axios reports that the U.S. is tracking Siberia travelers after a suspected plague case.
Source ↗UNITED24 Media's headline reports a second death; the supplied excerpt provides no further details or confirmation.
Source ↗Observation ended for about 60 percent of contacts; no plague-positive contacts reported. No new case reported.
Source ↗Governor relays Rospotrebnadzor: a biosafety team inspected the institute and found no emergency. The Kremlin urges reliance on official statements.
Source ↗Secretary Rubio: not cause for alarm, but cause for focus. President Trump says the US is looking at it very strongly.
Source ↗City Clinical Hospitals No. 1, 3, 10 and the Ivano-Matreninskaya Children's Hospital reportedly closed for three weeks.
Source ↗Cause given as pneumonia of undetermined etiology; no work-related microorganisms found; no lab accident recorded. About 197 contacts under observation.
Source ↗Relatives say employees sleep on floors and chairs; no positive tests reported by Saturday.
Source ↗She dies overnight. Lyudi Baikala, Mash, Baza and SHOT report pneumonic plague. The IrkAZ plant in Shelekhov mandates masks.
Source ↗Darya Shipilova, 28, of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, is admitted to hospital in Shelekhov.
Source ↗Outlet reports a technician broke a test tube containing pneumonic-plague bacteria. Not confirmed by authorities.
Source ↗The Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East studies plague in natural foci across Siberia. A 28-year-old technician fell ill in late September and died on Oct 2. Reports differ on whether a lab accident or field trip was involved.
Yersinia pestis spreads via flea bites from rodents (bubonic). Pneumonic plague is the only form that spreads person-to-person, through respiratory droplets during close contact.
Sudden fever, chills, headache, weakness, then rapidly developing pneumonia with chest pain, cough and sometimes bloody sputum. Incubation 1–4 days.
Treatable with antibiotics if started within ~24 hours. Contacts receive monitoring and preventive antibiotics; isolation, masks and droplet precautions limit spread.