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The 28-year-old laboratory worker, Darya Shipilova, died last week after developing pneumonia of unknown origin while working at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia. US President Donald Trump, however, says Washington does not believe the case is linked to a biological weapon.
Trump said Russian officials had reassured their US counterparts that the situation was under control. (Photo: Reuters)
A mysterious death inside a Russian plague laboratory has put health officials on alert. A 28-year-old worker died after developing unexplained pneumonia, prompting Russia to quarantine about 200 people. US President Donald Trump, however, says Washington does not believe the case is linked to a biological weapon.
"We're going to find out soon enough, but we don't think so," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday when asked whether the incident could involve a bioweapon.
The 28-year-old laboratory worker, Darya Shipilova, died last week after developing pneumonia of unknown origin while working at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia. Russian authorities have not established what caused the illness, but they have said there is no evidence of plague among people who came into contact with her and that there is no risk of an epidemic.
The case has nevertheless attracted international attention because of where Shipilova worked and the unusual precautions that followed her death. Around 200 people were initially placed under quarantine or medical observation, while Russian health authorities carried out thousands of tests.
The circumstances have also been clouded by conflicting reports about how Shipilova may have become ill. One Russian media report said she broke a test tube containing pneumonic plague bacteria on September 25. Russian authorities have not confirmed that account and have said no laboratory accident involving pathogenic microorganisms was recorded at the institute.
TRUMP WANTS MORE ANSWERS FROM MOSCOW
Trump said Russian officials had reassured their US counterparts that the situation was under control. But he also admitted that Moscow's limited public disclosures had raised questions.
The US President compared Russia's response with China's handling of the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, when Chinese authorities initially insisted the outbreak was contained before the virus spread around the world.
"China didn't say much, and Russia is not saying much either," Trump said. "But they do say they have it very much under control."
Expecting Moscow to provide more information, Trump said US experts were already examining what was known about the case.
"I just met with our people. We have brilliant experts," Trump said. "They know everything about what's going on. And, all of that information is going through them."
Washington has also formally pressed Moscow for more details about the circumstances surrounding Shipilova's death. The comments come as US officials continue to monitor the situation. US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director Erica Schwartz said the agency was prepared to monitor and screen travellers, while assessing the risk to the United States as extremely low.
WHO STILL DOES NOT HAVE THE FULL PICTURE
The World Health Organisation has also been pressing Moscow for more information. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Russian authorities had informed the agency that Shipilova had a community-acquired case of pneumonia. But the WHO has not been given enough information to determine precisely what pathogen caused her fatal illness or why such extensive precautionary measures were introduced.
The agency is also seeking clarification over reports that a second employee at the Siberian laboratory developed pneumonia of unknown cause.
"We would like more information to understand which laboratory tests were conducted, which pathogens were evaluated, and if this individual didn't die from plague, then how did she die?" Maria Van Kerkhove, director of the WHO's department of epidemic and pandemic management, said at a virtual press conference.
Tedros said the WHO had offered assistance to Russia and asked Moscow to verify reports about the alleged second case.
The uncertainty is significant because pneumonia is not a diagnosis in itself. It describes an infection or inflammation of the lungs that can have many causes, including bacterial infections, influenza, Covid-19 and, in some cases, plague.
RUSSIA SAYS THERE IS NO EPIDEMIC RISK
Russia has sought to reassure the public that the situation is under control.
Rospotrebnadzor, the country's health watchdog, said on Wednesday that there was no risk of an epidemic in the Irkutsk region. It said no cases of plague had been detected among people who had been in contact with Shipilova.
The agency said nearly 5,000 laboratory tests had been conducted without detecting dangerous pathogens and that about 90 per cent of those initially placed under quarantine had since been released. It also said Shipilova had been vaccinated and was therefore "immune to the dangerous infections with which she worked".
"Preventive and anti-epidemic measures have been carried out comprehensively; there are no epidemic risks to the population of Irkutsk and the Irkutsk Region," the agency said.
Russian authorities have also said the epidemiological situation in the region remains stable.
KREMLIN PUSHES BACK ON REPORTS
The Kremlin has criticised what it described as inaccurate media coverage surrounding the incident.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had informed the WHO about the case in accordance with established procedures. Asked about reports of a second person falling ill, he urged journalists and the public to rely on official information rather than unverified reports.
"There is a great deal of media coverage, and the vast majority of what the media are reporting about this situation is false information," said Peskov.
Some Western media reports have also claimed that another person in Siberia died from plague.
WHY THE CASE HAS RAISED BIOSECURITY QUESTIONS
The attention surrounding Shipilova's death is partly rooted in the nature of the institute where she worked.
The Irkutsk facility specialises in research into plague and other dangerous infectious diseases. Reports that a laboratory worker may have been exposed to a plague pathogen have therefore fuelled speculation about a possible laboratory accident, although Russian authorities have not confirmed such an incident.
Pneumonic plague is particularly serious because it affects the lungs and can spread between people through respiratory droplets during close contact. But plague is treatable with antibiotics when detected and treated promptly. There is currently no public evidence of wider transmission from Shipilova's case.
That distinction matters as speculation about a possible outbreak continues to circulate.
So far, neither the WHO nor Russian authorities have established that Shipilova died from plague. Nor has there been public evidence linking her death to a bioweapon.
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With inputs from agencies
