Health & securityIrkutsk52.29°N 104.28°E
A plague-lab worker's death: the WHO is waiting for answers from Moscow
Russia says no dangerous pathogen was found and calls reports of a second case false. The cause of death is still unexplained.
Darya Shipilova, 28, a technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, died of severe pneumonia on Oct. 2. The head of Buryatia first wrote that she had died of plague, then added the word “possibly.” Russia’s health watchdog calls it pneumonia of unknown cause.
Nearly 200 people were put under medical observation. The WHO chief asked Russia to clarify reports of a second sick employee, which Moscow called false. Authorities still have not said what caused the pneumonia.
Where accounts differRussian authorities have not said what caused the pneumonia. Local reports of a lab accident remain unconfirmed.
SourcesVerified