Russia Hospitalizes Five After Suspected Mpox Exposure, Launches Emergency Disease Investigation

Five people were hospitalized in Russia’s Moscow region after contact with a person suspected of having mpox, according to Interfax on October 15.

The Moscow region Health Ministry confirmed the hospitalizations to Interfax on October 15, reporting that all five individuals were placed under medical observation. Authorities collected samples for laboratory testing to determine whether they had contracted the virus.

The ministry noted that all five patients were in satisfactory condition and showed no clinical symptoms of mpox. Their test results had not been disclosed, while the suspected infection that prompted their hospitalization remained unconfirmed.

Later on October 15, Russia’s consumer health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, announced that it had launched an epidemiological investigation into the suspected case. The agency confirmed that five contacts were hospitalized and that disinfection measures had been ordered.

"Specialists from Rospotrebnadzor's Moscow region office immediately launched a sanitary and epidemiological investigation," the agency stated, as reported by Interfax. Officials added that they were identifying additional contacts and implementing measures to prevent further transmission.

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The development follows several confirmed mpox infections in Russia earlier in 2026. On February 15, RBC reported, citing Rospotrebnadzor, that two men returning from Thailand had tested positive for the virus in St. Petersburg. Both were hospitalized, while authorities placed their contacts under medical observation.

The suspected mpox case follows public health concerns in Siberia, where an alleged plague outbreak in the Irkutsk region drew international attention earlier in October. Laboratory worker Darya Shipilova, 28, died on October 2 after reportedly breaking a test tube containing live bacteria at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, and hundreds of her contacts were placed in quarantine.

Russian authorities attributed her death to unidentified pneumonia and denied that an outbreak was occurring. Unconfirmed reports of a second death emerged on October 6, while Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan tightened health controls.

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