Rubio says US monitoring Russian plague scare
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is visiting Iceland, Greece and Portugal this week, said the United States is closely tracking reports that a laboratory worker in Russia may have been infected with plague.
Russian authorities have quarantined a hospital and placed dozens of people under medical observation after a 28-year-old employee of a Siberian plague research institute died from pneumonia of unknown origin. The case has raised fears—though there is still no confirmation—that she contracted pneumonic plague.
Darya Shipilova worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. Russian health officials say extensive testing found no evidence that pathogens connected to her work caused the illness. They have not publicly disclosed what ultimately killed her.
The exceptional measures taken in response have prompted speculation in Russia and abroad. Reuters reported Oct. 5 that authorities had identified all known contacts and placed them under medical supervision. Officials also said no additional cases had been found among institute employees.
Rubio said Monday that the United States was “watching and monitoring it closely.” He added: “I don’t think it’s cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause just to keep an eye on it.”
A view of the Medical Assistance and Rescue Centre, an infectious diseases’ hospital, in the town of Shelekhov in the Irkutsk region, Russia, October 5, 2026. (Reuters)
Rubio said information released by Russia appeared to indicate that “there was a worker at the lab that was infected,” raising concerns that the illness might have spread within the facility. Although travel between Russia and the United States is limited, he warned that “something like that gets out, it just quickly spreads.”
His remarks came after the State Department told Fox News on Oct. 4 that Washington was monitoring the case with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies. The official emphasized that many details remained unverified and called on Moscow to release accurate information promptly.
East2West news agency reported Monday that more than 60 employees were still confined inside the Irkutsk institute, while nearly 200 people who had contact with Shipilova were under observation. Officials have not confirmed those exact figures. The agency also said neighboring countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, had strengthened health screening measures at their borders after the case.
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The hospital in Shelekhov, near Irkutsk, where Shipilova received treatment, was quarantined and temporarily stopped admitting or releasing patients, according to The Associated Press. Irkutsk Gov. Igor Kobzev called the case a suspected “particularly dangerous infection.”
Darya Shipilova, 28, an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, died after developing pneumonia of an unknown cause, prompting quarantines and heightened health precautions in the region. Russian authorities say testing has found no evidence her illness was linked to pathogens she worked with. (East2West news)
The response intensified further when Anna Popova, head of Russia’s public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, traveled to Irkutsk for an emergency meeting after Shipilova’s death, Reuters reported. A nearby aluminum plant also required employees to wear masks as a precaution.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged people to rely on official updates instead of “rumors or speculation.”
Rospotrebnadzor said Sunday that Shipilova had been diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown etiology.” The agency said testing found “no microorganisms associated with the patient’s professional activities” and that investigators found no laboratory accident involving pathogenic microorganisms.
Pneumonic plague is a serious form of plague caused by Yersinia pestis. It can pass from person to person through respiratory droplets during close contact, but early treatment with antibiotics can be effective.
Workers in protective uniforms conduct testing in Russia amid heightened precautions following the death of an employee at a Siberian anti-plague research institute. (Khuvsguliinungu.mn/e2w)
Russian officials continue to say there is no evidence of a plague outbreak and that the region’s epidemiological situation is stable. Still, the key questions remain unresolved: what caused Shipilova’s fatal pneumonia, and why were such sweeping containment measures introduced if testing has found no dangerous pathogen?
