Darya Shipilova, 28-Year-Old Siberian Research Technician, Dies After Developing Severe Pneumonia
Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, died early on October 2, 2026.
Shipilova entered a hospital on September 29 with severe pneumonia and died at a medical facility in Shelekhov, near Irkutsk.
Russian officials described the illness as pneumonia of unknown origin and said extensive testing found no microorganisms connected to Shipilova’s work or evidence of a laboratory accident.
An independent local report cited unnamed sources who attributed the death to pneumonic plague, but authorities had not confirmed that account as of the October 7 report.
Officials confined more than 60 institute employees from October 2 and placed approximately 200 people under medical observation, while the World Health Organization assessed the broader public risk as low.
Shipilova’s death prompted extensive precautions, international attention, and continued calls for conclusive laboratory findings.
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