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US Monitoring Suspected Pneumonic Plague Case in Russia
Confirmed
In Short: A State Department official said the US is closely monitoring a suspected fatal case of pneumonic plague in Russia after a laboratory worker died in Siberia.
The incident occurred at the Anti-Plague Research Institute in Shelekhov near Irkutsk, according to Russia's state-run TASS news agency.
The woman, identified in reports as Daria Shipilova, worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Shelekhov, near the city of Irkutsk.
According to reports from Russian and international media, Shipilova became seriously ill after reportedly breaking a test tube containing pneumonic plague bacteria on September 25.
Russian authorities have quarantined a hospital and are tracing the contacts of an employee at a plague research institute in the remote Siberian region of Irkutsk who died of a suspected pneumonic plague infection.
The State Department said it is aware of reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, and is monitoring the situation closely with the CDC and other interagency partners.
The official urged Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly, noting that many details have not been confirmed.
The State Department also said pneumonic plague can be treated with antibiotics, particularly when treatment begins promptly after suspected exposure.
The U.S. averages about seven cases of plague each year, mostly on the West Coast in states such as Arizona and New Mexico, according to the CDC.
Russian officials have quarantined a hospital and are tracing the contacts of an employee at a plague research institute in the remote Siberian region of Irkutsk who died of a suspected pneumonic plague infection.
President Donald Trump said the United States is ready to help Russia with a suspected pneumonic plague outbreak.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said based on unofficial information it has received, the “public health risk to the general population appears to be low.”
What this adds
The case centers on the death of 28-year-old Daria Shipilova, an employee at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia.
The woman, identified in reports as Daria Shipilova, worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Shelekhov, near the city of Irkutsk.
The incident occurred at the Anti-Plague Research Institute in Shelekhov near Irkutsk, according to Russia's state-run TASS news agency.
Russian authorities have quarantined a hospital and are tracing the contacts of an employee at a plague research institute in the remote Siberian region of Irkutsk who died of a suspected pneumonic plague infection.
Background
A State Department official said the US is closely monitoring a suspected fatal case of pneumonic plague in Russia after a laboratory worker died in Siberia.
What's confirmed
- “We are aware of reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. We are monitoring the situation closely with the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and our other interagency partners,” a State Department official told Al Jazeera “Many details have not been confirmed. We encourage Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly,” the official said.
- Alexei Tsydenov, head of neighbouring Buryatia, said the 28-year-old woman may have died from plague, while stressing that there was no plague outbreak in his republic.
- Former Rospotrebnadzor chief Gennady Onishchenko said the illness was “most likely not the plague”, adding that even if plague were confirmed, he did not expect the disease to spread.
- The State Department is monitoring reports of a suspected fatal pneumonic plague case in Russia. (iStock) "I would also expect our embassy in Moscow to be engaging with their diplomatic counterparts at an official level because we might have people in Russia who might be at risk," Hoffman warned.
- Plague bacteria (Yersinia pestis) causes bubonic plague and is carried in the pathogen of rats and there are still many regions of the world where the disease occurs. (iStock) Pneumonic plague can be treated with common antibiotics, especially when treatment begins early, the official said.
- Appropriate therapy should begin as soon as plague is suspected, and patients can be treated with intravenous or oral antimicrobials depending on the severity of illness and other factors, according to the CDC.
- The White House is monitoring reports of a suspected pneumonic plague case in Russia after a 28-year-old laboratory worker died following severe pneumonia, while nearly 200 people who may have come into contact with her have been placed under medical observation.
- Add ANI As A Trusted Source For Reliable Information ANI | Updated: Oct 05, 2026 10:21 IST Washington, DC [US], October 5 (ANI): The US State Department is actively monitoring unverified reports concerning a suspected fatal case of pneumonic plague originating within Russia, prompting an official appeal directed towards Moscow to promptly release precise information.
- Plague is a disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, according to the CDC.
What's still developing
- Moscow: Russian authorities are investigating the death of a laboratory technician at an Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia after she was diagnosed with pneumonia of “unknown aetiology”, raising concerns over a possible case of pneumonic plague.
- The Moscow Times reported this weekend that health officials in Siberia’s Irkutsk region placed nearly 200 people under medical observation after a laboratory worker died from the plague.
- Alexei Tsydenov, head of the neighboring republic of Buryatia, confirmed that a lab worker who broke a test tube of live bacteria had died from an unspecified form of plague, the Times reported.
- Kobzev previously said the emergency response was linked to a “suspected case of a particularly dangerous infection affecting a resident of the region”.
- It is usually found among small mammals and their fleas and can spread to humans through flea bites, contact with infected material or, in the case of pneumonic plague, through respiratory particles.
- That is why health authorities are taking the Siberia case seriously even though there is currently no publicly confirmed evidence of wider community transmission.
- The World Health Organization identifies three major plague pandemics in recorded history: the Plague of Justinian in the sixth century, the Black Death in the 14th century and the third pandemic, which began in the late 19th century.
- The third plague pandemic began in China in the late 1800s and spread internationally.
- Furthermore, the official observed that occurrences of pneumonic plague manifest naturally across multiple global regions.
- According to the NICD, pneumonic plague is characterised by rapidly developing pneumonia accompanied by symptoms such as fever, headache, weakness, shortness of breath, chest pain and coughing.
- The statement comes after some Russian media and public figures reported a death potentially due to the plague and linked to a lab worker.
- Before Rospotrebnadzor reported that the employee's illness was due to pneumonia with an unknown cause, Alexei Tsydenov, the head of Buryatia, a region neighboring Irkutsk Oblast, suggested that a woman may have died of the plague.