Everything we know about the suspected plague case in Russia so far

• On October 2, an Irkutsk lab employee died from pneumonia.
• There's confusion over what illness the woman died from, with conflicting reports out of the region.
• The World Health Organization says the US is at "very low risk" of being exposed to the plague.

After a technician at an anti-plague laboratory in Siberia died, Russian officials are attempting to calm global concerns.

Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old employee at the Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia, died on October 2 after being hospitalized days earlier for pneumonia in Shelekhov, a nearby town.

The World Health Organization told the Associated Press on October 6 that the plague presents a "very low" risk to the broader European region.

That doesn't mean we know everything — or really, much of anything — as of now. While there's no confirmation of a plague outbreak so far, conflicting reports about how Shipilova got infected, whether she was infected at work, and Russia's current safety protocols have given some medical experts pause.

On October 7, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization had requested more information from Russian health authorities.

"It's an odd situation that needs more transparency and requires more information for clarity," Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, the founding director of the Boston University Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases, told Business Insider.

Here's everything we know so far.

What happened to Darya Shipilova?

Rospotrebnadzor, Russia's public health watchdog, said that Shipilova died from "pneumonia of unknown etiology." A friend told CNN that she died on October 2.

WHO director of Epidemic and Pandemic Management Maria Van Kerkhove said Wednesday that the health agency doesn't know how Shipilova and urged Russian officials to provide more information.

People of Baikal, an independent regional news outlet, reported that Shipilova was "deeply anxious about ever infecting anyone if something happened," according to one of her colleagues at the institute.

Other colleagues called her "responsible" and described the anti-plague institute as "a serious facility" in terms of safety measures.

Did she die of pneumonic plague?

Reports from Russian exiled publications — ones forced to operate outside Russia or use decentralized reporting methods — speculate whether Shipilova died from the pneumonic plague.

The Moscow Times, an independent publication located in Amsterdam, reported unconfirmed claims that Shipilova may have broken a test tube containing plague bacteria at the institute before she fell ill.

It also reported, citing Russian Telegram channel Mash, that she was hospitalized with pneumonia symptoms and placed on a ventilator before her death.

Why has Shipilova's case raised alarm?

Reports from Russian state media and independent publications have often clashed, leading to more questions than answers. "The scenario, to me, doesn't fit together," Bhadelia said.

If the reports of a broken test tube were true, an anti-plague institute should have several safety measures in place, such as protective equipment, ventilation, and clear treatment protocols.

"She needs to have broken a test tube, have a breach in her personal protective equipment, not reported the incident, not gotten the antibiotic prophylaxis, just gone home under no one's observation, shown up at a local district hospital, and exposed 200 people," Bhadelia added.

That explanation, however, is at odds with another report from the People of Baikal.

Rospotrebnadzor said authorities identified and monitored 197 people who had contact with Shipilova. By October 8, the agency said it had completed the health checks, and nearly 5,000 laboratory tests found no dangerous pathogens. It had previously reported two COVID-19 cases and two rhinovirus cases among those tested.

"It could be that we just don't have the perfect information, that there might be some media sensationalism in the regional media, or there may be something else going on that we don't know," Bhadelia said.

Still, the current risk is nowhere near a COVID-19-level threat.

What is pneumonic plague — and how does it spread?

Yersinia pestis, or plague, is a bacterial infection that progresses very quickly, Bhadelia said. Patients with pneumonic plague can sometimes develop symptoms in under 24 hours. It can be fatal if left untreated.

Luckily, when caught early, treatment is also pretty straightforward: A course of antibiotics.

In July 2025, an Arizona man contracted pneumonic plague from two ill cats. He was medically evaluated after two days of abdominal pain, chest pain, and dry cough. He died eight hours after admission. However, all 46 people exposed to him recovered after taking antibiotics.

Bhadelia said it points to one of the biggest mysteries of the Russia case so far: If Shipilova was reportedly experienced, knew she was exposed, and reported it, why wouldn't she be under quarantine and quickly treated with medication?

"Early identification and post-exposure prophylaxis is one of the ways that this could be avoided," she said.

Is there any risk to people in the US?

The WHO says the risk outside Russia is "very low," and there is no evidence of cases in the US or beyond the Irkutsk area.

Still, US officials are seeking more information. At apress conference in Icelandon October 6, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "It's incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world."

President Donald Trump also said he had expected to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a possible case of pneumonic plague, but the Kremlin said a call hadn't been scheduled yet.

When asked if he thought the incident was somehow connected to Russia developing a bioweapon, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, "We hope not," and "we're going to find out soon enough, but we don't think so."

What we're missing from Russia

Bhadelia, who is also the founding director of the Biothreats Emergence, Analysis, and Communications Network, said the organization is trying to provide the most up-to-date information on the pneumonic plague in Russia.

It's not easy.

For one, under international law, Russia is required to report any suspected global public health emergency to the WHO within 24 hours. WHO learned about the patient through an AI-assisted platform that monitors local news reports of concerning illnesses, according to CNN.

Russia is also notorious for clamping down on the free press, particularly after the start of the Ukraine war. Additionally, some early reports of the plague, including from pro-Kremlin sources such as REN TV, appeared inaccessible when Business Insider checked on October 6.

Some of the reports from Rospotrebnadzor have also been vague. For example, the agency said it tested Shipilova and found no connection to plagues attached to her work. However, Bhadelia said it's unclear exactly what she was tested for.

"We should find out what the results were of what she was negative for, even if they don't know what she's positive for," she said.

For onlookers, the situation carries some parallels to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over six years later, WHO still hasn't confirmed the origin of COVID-19, which Bhadelia said could be contributing to the panic.

"Transparency is important," she said. "We've learned from the COVID lesson that this can spin out to be much bigger."

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