Russia denies plague: We know that about the suspected infection in Siberia

SVT cannot confirm that it was she who died at the hospital, but her social media shows that she lists the "Irkutsk Scientific Research Institute against Plague for Siberia and the Far East" as her workplace.

On the research institute's website, both her name and picture appear at various events organized by the institute. At the latest at the end of August this year. The institute lists her as one of its young researchers.

Claims about the cause of death

The first time a picture of her appeared was on October 2 when several pro-Russian Telegram channels wrote that she had died after contracting the plague during a work trip to the Russian sub-republic of Buryatia.

The claim was denied the same day by Buryatia's leader who said the cause of death was plague, but that the woman had not visited the sub-republic.

Shortly after the first version, another theory began to spread. Russian Telegram channels and a journalist from Irkutsk wrote that the 28-year-old researcher had accidentally broken a test tube with plague without telling anyone about it - and that the woman died shortly afterwards in a hospital in Shelekhov, which was closed in connection with the incident.

Actions by Russian authorities

The governor of Shelekhov confirmed on the same day that some wards of the hospital had been shut down – patients were not being discharged and new ones were not being admitted.

The head of Russia's infectious disease control agency came to the region and the local authorities announced that extensive measures had been put in place. Among other things, by examining everyone who had contact with the woman.

But neither the governor of the city nor the region mentioned the disease plague. And when the administration of the neighboring city urged its residents not to travel to Shelekhov, that post was deleted a couple of hours after it was published.

Russia: Not plague

On October 4, the Russian infectious disease control agency released information that the woman died due to pneumonia and that it is unclear what caused it.