The World Health Organization says it has found no evidence of ongoing transmission after a scientist died at a Siberian anti-plague institute, though it still has no confirmed diagnosis.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an update on the death of laboratory worker Darya Shipilova, who died on 2 October at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia. The agency confirmed that no case of plague has been officially registered. It also said the absence of a confirmed diagnosis in Ms Shipilova remained “a key uncertainty”. Russian officials say she died of pneumonia of unknown cause.
What the WHO said
In its statement, the agency said: “Based on the information provided… WHO has not identified evidence of ongoing transmission associated with this event.” It added: “A key uncertainty remains the absence of a confirmed diagnosis in the deceased laboratory worker.”
The WHO said it has not received a confirmed diagnosis of what caused the fatal illness. Further clinical, epidemiological and laboratory information is needed to establish the cause. Without that, it cannot independently determine whether the monitoring period was long enough to rule out every plausible cause.
Russia’s account
Russia’s health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, has logged the cause of death as “pneumonia of unknown aetiology”. According to India Times, the watchdog says post-mortem tests on Ms Shipilova, along with checks on nearly 200 quarantined contacts, found no high-threat pathogens. Russian health officials say she was fully vaccinated and that no dangerous pathogens escaped into the public domain.
Russian authorities told the WHO that identified contacts had been tested and medically monitored, with no further cases of severe pneumonia linked to the death. They also said investigations found no laboratory biosafety or biosecurity incident. That contradicts online speculation that she had smashed a test tube containing dangerous bacteria, though the underlying cause of death remains unresolved.
According to local authorities on 6 October, about 60% of those held in isolation had already been allowed to leave quarantine.
Why plague was suspected
Pneumonic plague was suspected soon after the death. It is a lung infection caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. It can spread between people through infectious respiratory droplets during close contact, and can progress rapidly, though prompt antibiotic treatment can be effective. Al Jazeera reported that the governor of neighbouring Buryatia said at the time that Ms Shipilova had “died, maybe of the plague”.
The WHO has not confirmed that she had plague. The suspicion arose because she worked at a facility that researches dangerous pathogens, and because of unverified claims about a laboratory accident.
The unconfirmed second case
On Wednesday 7 October, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pressed Moscow over media claims that a second worker had fallen ill with an unidentified chest infection. Russia rejected the reports as “false information”. The WHO has not identified evidence of additional linked cases, so there is no verified evidence of a second case connected to Ms Shipilova’s death.
