WHO says no plague case has been registered after Russian lab worker died in Siberia on October 2

From the Newshound archive · first published 7 October 2026 · last updated 11 October 2026.

Darya Shipilova, 28, whose death on October 2 after reportedly breaking a test tube of pneumonic plague bacteria sparked fears of an outbreak, was treated by doctors as a severe Covid case until it was too late for…

The World Health Organisation still cannot confirm what killed a researcher at the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia on October 2, after tests on her and around 200 quarantined contacts came back negative for high-threat pathogens. The WHO's first full Disease Outbreak News update says no linked cases of severe pneumonia have emerged and no ongoing transmission has been identified, but a confirmed diagnosis of the cause of death remains absent. Initial unconfirmed reports had pointed to pneumonic plague, a person-to-person respiratory disease that is treatable if caught early. The agency is calling for additional clinical, epidemiological and laboratory investigation before any firm assessment can be made.

Pneumonic plague, unlike the bubonic form linked to the Black Death, spreads person to person through severe pneumonia but carries high recovery rates if treated promptly.

Bioweapons expert Marshall Billingslea, citing intelligence from a former Soviet programme defector, is demanding Moscow comes clean about what research the institute was conducting.

The IndependentWHO says no plague case registered after lab worker’s death in Russia The IndependentWHO provides update on investigation into plague lab worker’s death in Russia APMystery surrounds young worker’s death at Russia lab studying severe diseases ReutersWHO says Russia confirms death at research lab, no plague case registered

Read today's full feed at The Newshound →