Russian Media Report Second Death Amid Suspected Plague Outbreak in Siberia

Russian media reported on October 6 that a second person had died amid an alleged plague outbreak in Russia’s Irkutsk region, while federal health authorities continued to deny that an outbreak exists.

The Daily Mail reported that the unidentified person allegedly died at an Irkutsk district hospital after contracting plague. The claim has not been independently confirmed, and Russian authorities have not publicly acknowledged a second death.

The reports emerged after laboratory worker Darya Shipilova, 28, died on October 2. She reportedly told medical personnel that she had accidentally broken a test tube containing live bacteria at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute in Siberia.

According to earlier reports, hundreds of people who had been in contact with Shipilova were placed in quarantine. Russian authorities attributed her death to unidentified pneumonia, while Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan tightened health controls amid reports of pneumonic plague.

Russian media reports about the suspected outbreak have also reportedly disappeared. The Insider reported that REN TV deleted five articles about plague cases, and that reports from Channel 5 and Kommersant were also removed.

Authorities in Baikalsk, near the Mongolian border, warned residents on October 3 to avoid traveling to Shelekhov because of "unofficial information about a confirmed case of plague." The Telegram post was deleted roughly two hours later, according to local outlet Lyudi Baikala.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged the public to rely only on information from Russia’s consumer health regulator, Rospotrebnadzor. "One should rely on official statements from Rospotrebnadzor rather than listening to various rumors and speculation," he stated.

Rospotrebnadzor has denied that a plague outbreak is occurring in the region. Pneumonic plague is a severe lung infection that can spread between people through respiratory droplets and can become rapidly fatal without prompt antibiotic treatment.

Earlier on October 6, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Russia to disclose more information about Shipilova’s death, stating that Washington was monitoring the situation "hour by hour."

Rubio noted that the US had measures available to assist Russia if the situation proved more serious, but needed additional information before determining whether such assistance was necessary.

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