Kremlin Urges Public to Ignore Rumors After Plague Lab Death
Moscow welcomed Trump’s offer of assistance after a Siberian laboratory worker died from pneumonia of unknown origin. Russian officials reported no plague among her contacts, while Rubio called for greater transparency.
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The Kremlin urged Russians on Tuesday not to “listen to various rumors” after a Siberian plague institute worker’s death triggered international concern.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov directed the public to official statements as health authorities said testing found no plague among the woman’s contacts.
The cause of her fatal pneumonia remains unresolved.
“It’s always good when mutual assistance is offered,” Peskov told reporters, welcoming President Donald Trump’s offer of assistance.
He did not indicate whether Moscow would take up Trump’s offer.
Moscow Seeks to Contain the Scare
Russian media identified the worker as Darya Shipilova, 28, of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East.
Authorities said she died on October 2 from pneumonia of undetermined origin.
Russia’s health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said expanded testing of her samples had found no microorganisms associated with her work.
It also rejected reports that an accident involving pathogenic microorganisms had occurred at the institute.
Accounts circulating online suggested a broken test tube, exposure near Mongolia, or illness following travel to Thailand.
None has been supported by publicly available evidence.
About 200 contacts were initially quarantined or placed under medical observation, according to local reports.
Elena Sofina, a senior official in the Shelekhov district near Irkutsk, said 60% had subsequently been released.
The watchdog reported two COVID-19 infections and two rhinovirus infections during testing of contacts, but no plague.
It also said no infectious diseases had been reported among institute staff over the preceding 10 days.
Washington Requests More Information
Trump offered U.S. assistance on Monday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio followed on Tuesday with a demand for fuller disclosure.
“I think it’s incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world,” Rubio told reporters in Iceland.
Rubio said Washington was monitoring developments closely and had measures available to assist if the situation proved more serious.
Cause of Death Still Unresolved
The World Health Organization said Russia told it no plague cases had been recorded in Irkutsk.
Reuters could not establish whether that statement ruled out plague in Shipilova’s case.
Residents in Shelekhov described limited disruption, with some briefly wearing masks.
One resident said diagnostic services at the local hospital had resumed after a temporary suspension.
Ahmet Koçak
Ahmet Koçak is a news editor at Clash Report based in Istanbul. He previously served as Deputy Managing Editor at Türkiye Today, helping launch the digital news platform in 2023, and spent three years as Senior Editor at Daily Sabah. His work focuses on breaking news, geopolitics, international affairs, and digital journalism.
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