Russia reports no plague after institute worker’s death

Russian authorities told the World Health Organization that no plague cases had been recorded recently in Irkutsk and that testing found no high-threat pathogens, following the death of a technician at a Siberian research institute. The WHO said contact monitoring had been completed but requested more information about the cause of Darya Shipilova’s severe pneumonia and reports of a second employee with pneumonia. Shipilova, who worked at the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute, died on October 2 after developing severe pneumonia. Early reports raised the possibility of pneumonic plague or an accidental laboratory exposure, but the supplied information does not establish the cause of her illness or death. In statements relayed by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Russian authorities said an epidemiological investigation had been conducted, contacts identified and observed, and no high-threat pathogens detected. Russia also told the WHO that observation had ended.