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The World Health Organization released a report on the death of a Russian infectious disease researcher, noting that Russia has not yet confirmed the cause of death. Because of this missing information, the UN health agency stated it cannot assess the risk to the public or determine if Russia’s safety measures were adequate. The WHO learned of the death through media reports on October 2 after requesting details from Russian authorities over several days.

Early reports suggested the worker, identified as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova, died from the plague after breaking a test tube. However, Russia’s National Focal Point later clarified that no plague cases were recorded in the region. Instead, doctors categorized the death as pneumonia of undetermined etiology. The worker had been vaccinated against plague due to her job at the Irkutsk Antiplague Research Institute and had not traveled outside the region before falling ill.

Russian authorities conducted 5,500 laboratory tests on contacts, checking for various pathogens including influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and bacteria like Streptococcus. While two people tested positive for COVID-19 and others for minor viruses or common bacteria, no high-threat pathogens were found in the lab’s research portfolio or among the contacts. The WHO concluded that without a confirmed diagnosis, it remains impossible to independently verify if the seven-day monitoring period was sufficient to rule out all possible causes of death.