Russia’s health authority dismissed rumors of a second individual falling sick after an employee’s death at a plague research facility in Siberia. The regulator refuted false information circulating on social media about another case of illness. After conducting thorough checks on all contacts of the deceased woman, no health issues related to infectious diseases were found. Nearly 5,000 laboratory tests revealed no presence of dangerous pathogens.

The 28-year-old lab worker, Daria Shipilova, passed away from pneumonia of unknown origin at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Shelekhov. Russian authorities swiftly implemented precautionary measures following Shipilova’s death, attracting global attention. Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s health watchdog, confirmed that she died from an unidentified type of pneumonia and stated that no relevant pathogens were detected in those who had contact with her. Officials mentioned that Shipilova was vaccinated and therefore immune to the infections she worked with.

The World Health Organization initially assessed the public risk of the Russian case as low but expressed the need for more information from Russian authorities to conduct a comprehensive risk evaluation. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus offered assistance to Russia and sought verification of media reports about a second employee with unexplained pneumonia.

Health Canada and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are closely monitoring the situation. Health Canada sees no current risk to Canada, while the CDC considers the risk of an unconfirmed pneumonic plague case in Siberia as extremely low. The CDC is prepared to monitor and screen travelers, with a port health station at John F. Kennedy International Airport conducting surveillance for arrivals from the region. Direct flights between Russia and the United States have been halted since the onset of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.