Russia Denies Plague Death in Siberia, Says Situation Under Control

Russian officials on Monday downplayed reports that a laboratory technician in Siberia had died of plague, insisting the situation was under control and that post-mortem tests had not found traces of the disease. Reports on Friday that a 28-year-old woman named Darya Shipilova, who had been working for the anti-plague institute in Siberia's Irkutsk region, had died of plague sparked alarm. The news outlet People of Baikal, citing unnamed sources, said she may have contracted pneumonic plague from a broken test tube, but Irkutsk regional governor Igor Kobzev said Monday that an expert commission found "the cause of death was pneumonia of undetermined etiology." Kobzev said Rospotrebnadzor found "no microorganisms linked to the young woman's professional work" in her biological samples, and there have been "no new cases of staff from the anti-plague institute seeking medical attention" since her death. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters to rely on official statements rather than "rumours and speculations." Plague is a bacterial disease that can occur in several forms, including pneumonic plague, the most contagious type, which can be fatal if not treated early.