Russia Denies Plague Death in Siberia: What We Know

Russian authorities deny that a young woman died of plague in Siberia, attributing her death to pneumonia instead, while unverified claims of a lab accident and quarantine measures continue to circulate. The 28-year-old researcher, Darja Sjipilova, reportedly died at a hospital in Shelekhov, Irkutsk region, after working at a plague research institute. Pro-Russian Telegram channels first claimed on October 2 that she contracted plague during a work trip to Buryatia, which local leaders denied, saying she never visited. A second theory emerged that she broke a plague sample vial, leading to hospital closures confirmed by the local governor, though officials never mentioned plague. On October 4, Russia's sanitary authority stated she died of pneumonia of unknown cause. Reports of three hospitals in quarantine and a form marked "suspected plague" persist, but SVT cannot independently confirm the woman's identity or cause of death.