The mother of Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old employee at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East whose death has raised international public health concerns, has rejected reports that her daughter became infected after breaking a test tube.
Svetlana Shipilova, herself a medical professional, told the Russian outlet Glubina that she does not believe the account being circulated about her daughter’s death, The Telegraph reported.
“I know the truth,” she reportedly said. “I’m having to fend off stupid acquaintances who believed all this. The clever ones didn’t believe it, of course.”
Darya Shipilova, 28, an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, died after developing pneumonia of unknown cause, prompting quarantines and heightened health precautions in the region. Russian authorities say testing found no evidence that her illness was connected to the pathogens she worked with. (East2West news)
“Not even all medical professionals understand that it’s impossible to break a test tube like that,” she added. “Even if you fling it at the wall. Only an amateur could say something like that.”
“Even hypothetically, you simply can’t spill what’s inside or break the tube. They’re that well protected.”
She also told reporters, “They simply let my daughter die.”
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World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks on stage during World Forum 2026 on the “Future of Democracy, AI/Tech, and Humankind” as part of the Cinema for Peace events in Berlin Feb. 16, 2026. (Adam Berry/AFP via Getty Images)
Russian authorities have released few details about the case. Officials have said only that Shipilova developed pneumonia of “unknown” origin and that tests did not detect the pathogens she handled at the institute.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that “we don’t yet have the full picture of this event, and we are not able to conduct a full risk assessment.”
A view of the entrance to the grounds of the anti-plague institute in the city of Irkutsk Oct. 7, 2026. (Tatyana Makeyeva/AFP via Getty Images)
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was monitoring the reports. “CDC is aware of and closely monitoring reports of a suspected case of pneumonic plague in the Irkutsk region of Russia that resulted in a death,” the agency said in a post Tuesday on X.
“We are working across the U.S. government to assess developments as additional information becomes available.”
