Siberia: authorities deny death linked to plague

Russian authorities on Monday (October 5) downplayed reports that a woman had died of the plague in Siberia, saying the situation is “under control” while post-mortem tests have not revealed any trace of the disease. The death of Daria Chipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory technician who worked for the Irkutsk Plague Institute, reported by several Russian media on Friday, has caused serious concern.

According to the media People of Baikal, she could have contracted pneumonic plague from a broken test tube. But analyzes carried out by a special expert commission show that the cause of the young woman's death "is pneumonia of undetermined etiology", said Monday the governor of the Irkutsk region, Igor Kobzev. The results of the investigation by the public health agency Rospotrebnadzor showed “that no microorganisms related to the young woman's professional activity were detected in her biomaterials,” he said on Telegram.