Russia Plays Down Plague Fears

A 28-year-old lab researcher at a Russian institute dedicated to studying plague and dangerous pathogens died of pneumonia of an unknown origin. The World Health Organization said she died of severe pneumonia overnight into October 2.

Russian media initially reported that the researcher, Darya Shipilova, may have broken a test tube containing plague bacteria in late September, came down with severe pneumonia and then died of her illness. However, this has not been confirmed.

The head of Russia's eastern Republic of Buryatia, Alexei Tsydenov, initially said Shipilova possibly died of the plague in a post on the state-backed messaging app MAX. He later edited the post to add the word 'possibly'.

Local officials initially warned people not to visit the town of Shelekhov, where Shipilova was hospitalized and later died, citing 'unofficial information' about a human plague case. The post was deleted less than two hours later.

Russia's health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, has said it carried out 'anti-epidemic measures' that included testing nearly 200 people who had come into contact with Shipilova. The agency said some people had tested positive for colds or COVID, but that no pathogens related to the plague were found.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that Rospotrebnadzor was the 'lead agency with expertise in this area', and he urged Russians to 'listen to official information' from its 'highly qualified professionals'.

The US has offered to help Russia with a potential pneumonic plague outbreak, according to US President Donald Trump. The pneumonic plague is a highly infectious and deadly disease that can be transmitted from person to person.