Putin’s Plague Mystery Deepens as Russia Scrambles to Contain Fallout

Russian authorities have implemented “anti-epidemic measures” after a female lab worker died of a suspected case of pneumonic plague.

Maxim Modin, the mayor of the Shelekhovsky district in eastern Russia, announced the “comprehensive” measures after a 28-year-old employee of a Russian plague research institute in Siberia—named locally as Darya Shipilova—died of a mysterious illness last week, CNN reported.

The researcher at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East in Shelekhov allegedly broke a test tube containing live bacteria while collecting samples for testing at the research facility before falling ill, The Moscow Times reported.

She was hospitalized with pneumonia-like symptoms last Tuesday before dying on Thursday, Oct. 1. Authorities have already taken steps to control a potential outbreak, including placing nearly 200 people under observation and putting Shelekhov Hospital, where Shipilova was treated, under quarantine.

Mystery still surrounds the lab worker’s illness. Alexei Tsydenov, the governor of the neighboring Buryatia region, wrote in an Oct. 3 Telegram post that the woman had “died, maybe of the plague.” He also noted that Buryatia had reported no cases of plague.

Authorities have pushed back on claims that Shipilova died following an accident in the laboratory, with some local news reports claiming she had just returned from a work trip and may have contracted the illness elsewhere.

Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s national public health agency responsible for dealing with infectious diseases, said that the researcher had contracted “pneumonia of unknown etiology.”

Rospotrebnadzor also reported that “no microorganisms associated with the employee’s professional duties were detected in samples taken from the patient,” Modin said.

Pneumonic plague can spread from person to person through airborne respiratory droplets. Officials in the region urged calm and noted that there have been no other reports of anyone contracting the plague.

“All identified contact persons have been placed under medical observation. As of today, the contacts show no signs of illness, and their laboratory test results are negative,” Irkutsk region Gov. Igor Kobze wrote on Telegram on Friday, without mentioning Shipilova’s death.

Gennady Onishchenko, a former head of Rospotrebnadzor, suggested that the infection in the Irkutsk region is “most likely not the plague.” He added that even if plague were confirmed, there would be no spread of the disease. Onishchenko told the Russian state news agency TASS that cold weather in the region would also likely prevent transmission.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson told CNN that it is “monitoring the situation closely” amid reports of a possible plague death in Russia, alongside the CDC and other partners.

“Many details have not been confirmed. We encourage Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly,” the spokesperson added.

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