Russia Attributes 28-Year-Old Scientist's Death to Unknown Pneumonia as Nearly 200 Contacts Test Clear
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Oct 5
Russia Attributes 28-Year-Old Scientist's Death to Unknown Pneumonia as Nearly 200 Contacts Test Clear
3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Oct 5
Summary
Rospotrebnadzor said Darya Shipilova, 28, died from “pneumonia of unknown origin,” rejecting Russian media reports that a late-September lab accident exposed her to plague bacteria.
Nearly 200 contacts were tested after anti-epidemic measures, the agency said, finding only colds or COVID cases and no pathogens linked to dangerous infections.
The denial followed a string of walk-backs: Buryatia’s regional head edited a post saying Shipilova died of plague, and local officials deleted a warning against visiting Shelekhov within two hours.
The case drew international attention because Shipilova worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute more than 2,500 miles east of Moscow, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was not cause for alarm but for close monitoring.