WHO Seeks Details After Russian Laboratory Worker’s Death
The World Health Organization is asking Russia for information about the death of a worker at an anti-plague research institute in Siberia and unconfirmed reports of a second illness linked to the facility.
The 28-year-old worker, identified by Russian media as Darya Shipilova, died October 2 after developing pneumonia. She worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. Questions have arisen about whether her illness involved pneumonic plague or a pathogen handled at the laboratory. Neither possibility has been confirmed.
At a briefing Wednesday, WHO official Maria Van Kerkhove said the agency does not know what caused Shipilova’s death or how she became infected. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency could not verify reports of a second case of pneumonia of undetermined cause and was seeking clarification from Russian authorities.
Russia’s public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said extensive testing found no evidence that Shipilova’s illness was caused by pathogens she worked with. Russian authorities described her death as resulting from pneumonia associated with an acute respiratory viral infection and said no plague cases had been registered in the Irkutsk region.
Authorities have traced contacts and placed about 200 people under medical observation. According to information Russia provided to the WHO, tests found no dangerous infectious disease pathogens among those contacts. Officials reported two COVID-19 cases and two rhinovirus cases during monitoring.
Irkutsk’s governor described Shipilova’s illness as a “particularly dangerous infection,” while local officials said the hospital where she died was placed under quarantine. Russian media reported that her mother had not received documentation stating a cause of death.
The WHO has asked Russia to clarify the cause of the severe pneumonia, the reason for the preventive measures and the reports of a second case. It has described the public health risk as low.