WASHINGTON — The United States is monitoring reports of a suspected case of pneumonic plague in Russia after the death of a 28-year-old laboratory worker in the Siberian region of Irkutsk, as some US political figures call for sweeping travel restrictions involving Russia.
“We are aware of reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia,” a State Department spokesperson told RFE/RL on October 4. “We are monitoring the situation closely with the CDC and our other interagency partners.”
The State Department urged Russian authorities to “share accurate information quickly and openly,” while noting that plague is treatable with commonly available antibiotics, particularly when treatment begins early.
A US Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson also confirmed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with the State Department. The spokesperson said the safety and security of US citizens remains the department’s “highest priority.”
The White House is also monitoring developments and Russia’s quarantine measures. Senior administration officials told reporters that the government is aware of the reports and is considering possible responses.
There are currently no direct commercial flights between the United States and Russia, and Washington has not announced any additional travel restrictions over the suspected case.
Concerns Heighten
The reports have prompted concern among some US lawmakers and former officials, including over Russia’s history of biological-weapons research.
Representative Don Bacon (Republican-Nebraska), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, linked the reports to longstanding Russian allegations that US-supported laboratories in Ukraine were involved in biological-weapons research.
“I remember hearing from anti-Ukraine voices about their so-called bio labs. It was Russian disinformation ops at their best. But in reality it is Russia with the bio labs,” Bacon wrote on social media.
Russia has long accused Washington and Kyiv of running biological-weapons facilities in Ukraine, allegations both governments reject and independent investigations have found no evidence to support.
The Soviet Union, however, did maintain a large offensive biological-weapons program during the Cold War, despite being a party to the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention. Defectors and subsequent investigations documented military research involving pathogens including plague, as well as efforts to develop antibiotic-resistant strains.
That history has become part of the political debate over the Irkutsk case. But there is no public evidence that the laboratory involved in the current incident was developing plague as a weapon or that the worker’s death was connected to an offensive biological-weapons program.
Former Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois separately called for a broad suspension of air travel involving Russia. “The whole world needs to ban ALL flights to and from Russia,” Kinzinger wrote on social media.
Some US political figures call for sweeping travel restrictions involving Russia following reports of a possible plague death in Siberia.
He later called for flights from Russia to be halted and for Russians to be barred from entering other countries until the situation was clarified.
What Happened In Irkutsk?
The case centers on Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute.
Independent Siberian news outlet Lyudi Baikala (People of Baikal) reported that Shipilova accidentally broke a test tube containing pneumonic-plague bacteria on September 25 while working at the institute. According to the report, she later became seriously ill and died on October 2.
Russian authorities have not publicly confirmed that account.
Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s consumer and public-health watchdog, said Shipilova had been diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown etiology.” The agency said additional testing was conducted because of her professional activities but did not detect microorganisms associated with her work.
Rospotrebnadzor also said that no accidents involving pathogenic microorganisms had been recorded at the institute.
At the same time, authorities have imposed precautionary measures. About 200 people who may have had contact with Shipilova have been placed under medical observation or isolation, while hospitals in the region have introduced restrictions.
The measures have fueled speculation because Russian officials initially avoided publicly referring to plague, while local and independent reports described a possible laboratory accident involving Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague.
Rospotrebnadzor has described the epidemiological situation in Irkutsk and the nearby city of Shelekhov as “stable.”
What Is Pneumonic Plague?
Plague is caused by Yersinia pestis, a bacterium that normally circulates among wild rodents and fleas. Its pneumonic form affects the lungs and can spread from person to person through respiratory droplets during close contact.
The disease can progress rapidly, but modern antibiotics can be highly effective when treatment begins promptly.
The possibility of pneumonic plague would help explain the decision to identify and monitor people who had close contact with Shipilova. But quarantine and monitoring measures do not establish that she had plague or that an outbreak has occurred.
There is currently no publicly confirmed evidence of wider transmission among residents of Irkutsk.
