Plague Lab Scientist's Mother Rejects the Broken Test Tube Story as Experts Ask Where the PCR Results Are

The mother of a Russian plague lab technician who died in Siberia last week has rejected the broken-test-tube story behind her daughter's death, as questions remain over whether officials have publicly clarified the precise cause of death.

Daria Shipilova, 28, worked as a laboratory technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, a facility that handles live plague strains. She was admitted to hospital in Shelekhov on 29 September with severe pneumonia and died on 2 October, days after she reportedly told medics she had broken a test tube of live bacteria.

Mother Rejects the Lab Accident Account

Her mother, Svetlana Shipilova, a medical professional reportedly in quarantine at a hospital in Irkutsk, has outright dismissed that account. 'I know the truth,' she told the Russian outlet Glubina, insisting the glassware couldn't have spilt or shattered as the story suggests. 'Only an amateur could say something like that,' she said, adding that officials 'simply let my daughter die.'

Specialists share her scepticism and have questioned the reported account of the accident.

Experts Question the Missing Test Results

Mikhail Favorov, a US-based senior Russian epidemiologist, told the Moscow Times that the broken-test-tube explanation was ridiculous because institute staff work in full protective suits, making infection from a dropped vial unlikely. 'We will not be told what really happened,' he said. The exact quotation and its translation require verification against the original report.

An anti-plague institute can confirm Yersinia pestis, the bacterium behind plague, through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing within hours. Yet officials have not publicly clarified whether Shipilova herself tested positive for plague. Russia's federal health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, has described the cause of death as 'pneumonia of unknown aetiology' and denied any link to her work.

Quarantines Spread as Officials Deny an Outbreak

Between 189 and 197 of Shipilova's contacts were placed under observation, and more than 60 colleagues were confined inside the institute, according to the independent outlet Lyudi Baikala and regional media. By 8 October, authorities said monitoring had ended and that nearly 5,000 samples had revealed no dangerous pathogens.

The Irkutsk Aluminium Plant in Shelekhov ordered staff to wear masks, which its director called a precaution.

Lyudi Baikala also reported quarantine measures at several city hospitals, including a maternity ward. Regional officials later denied using a plague checklist at the Irkutsk perinatal centre, saying pregnant women completed standard questionnaires introduced after COVID-19. Rospotrebnadzor says contacts tested negative and that Shipilova had been vaccinated against the infections she handled.

Why Washington Is Watching

The World Health Organization (WHO) initially assessed the public health risk as low to moderate for the Irkutsk region, low for Russia, and very low for Europe. Moscow has told the body its investigation is complete and found no dangerous pathogens, although the WHO has requested further information to clarify the circumstances of the death.

US officials have sought additional information from Russia, but the specific White House statement and embassy health alert described in earlier reporting require direct verification.

Pneumonic plague spreads between people through the air and can be fatal without prompt treatment, which is why the unresolved cause of Shipilova's death remains a question for her family and international health officials.