Daria Shipilova was 28 years old and worked at an institute where some of the planet’s most dangerous germs are studied, including those responsible for pneumonic plague.
On September 29, 2026, she was admitted to a hospital in Shelekhov, near Irkutsk, in Siberia, with severe pneumonia. She died between October 1 and 2. Officially, Russia’s health agency, Rospotrebnadzor, describes the condition as pneumonia of unknown etiology. The agency says that expanded testing of her samples detected no microorganisms related to her work and that no accidents were reported during the handling of pathogens at the institute.
About 200 people who had contact with Shipilova were placed under preventive medical surveillance. According to Russian media, the people identified have no symptoms and tested negative. Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev called for calm and convened the regional anti-epidemic commission.
The pneumonic plague hypothesis began circulating on social media and in some local channels. One version holds that Shipilova may have fallen ill after accidentally breaking a tube containing live bacteria. However, this version has not been confirmed by the authorities.