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Russia Lab Death Sparks Plague Fears: Looking Back at India's Historic 1.2 Crore Toll
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News18•07-10-2026, 15:55
Russia Lab Death Sparks Plague Fears: Looking Back at India's Historic 1.2 Crore Toll
- •A 28-year-old lab technician named Daria Shipilova died in Siberia, Russia, raising international concern over a potential plague infection.
- •While Russian health authorities attributed her death to pneumonia of unknown origin and plague has not been officially confirmed, about 200 contacts have been isolated.
- •The World Health Organization stated that monitoring is ongoing and there is currently no evidence of a major plague outbreak.
- •Historically, the third plague pandemic in India caused over 1 crore to 1.2 crore deaths between 1896 and 1920, severely impacting the population.
- •Unlike past centuries, modern antibiotics and early detection make the plague treatable, meaning the Russian incident is not an immediate global threat.
Key Questions Answered
A 28-year-old lab technician named Daria Shipilova, who worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia, died on October 2 from pneumonia of unknown origin, with reports indicating she came into contact with plague bacteria.
Historical estimates and studies indicate that more than one crore to 1.2 crore people died from the plague in India between 1896 and 1920.
India's population dropped from about 249 million in 1911 to 248.1 million in 1921, driven by a combination of the plague, the 1918 influenza pandemic, famine, high mortality rates, and socio-economic crises.
