Russian authorities have dismissed reports that a laboratory technician in Siberia died from plague, saying the situation remains under control and that post-mortem tests found no evidence of the disease.
The reports emerged on Friday after the death of 28-year-old Darya Shipilova, who worked at an anti-plague institute in Russia’s Irkutsk region. Some reports suggested that she may have contracted pneumonic plague following a laboratory accident involving a broken test tube.
However, Irkutsk Regional Governor Igor Kobzev said on Monday that an expert commission had determined that Shipilova died from pneumonia of undetermined cause.
According to Kobzev, Russia’s consumer and health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, also found no microorganisms associated with the woman’s professional activities in her biological samples.
The governor added that no other employees of the anti-plague institute had sought medical attention since Shipilova’s death.
He described the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region as stable, stressing that the situation remained under the control of regional authorities and health experts.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also urged the public to rely on official statements from Rospotrebnadzor rather than rumours and speculation.
Plague is a bacterial disease that can occur in several forms. Pneumonic plague is the most contagious form and can be fatal if treatment is not provided early, according to the World Health Organisation.
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