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US Urges Russia to Share Information After Siberia Lab Worker Dies
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News18•06-10-2026, 21:54
US Urges Russia to Share Information After Siberia Lab Worker Dies
- •The United States is closely monitoring the situation in Russia following the death of a 28-year-old lab worker at a plague research centre in Siberia.
- •US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Moscow to share transparent information about the case as speculation grows over the circumstances of death.
- •Russian health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor stated the cause of death was pneumonia of undetermined etiology and denied any plague cases in Irkutsk.
- •Nearly 200 people were placed under observation in the Irkutsk region, though officials report that all contacts tested negative for pneumonic plague.
- •The US offered assistance to Russia if the situation proves serious, while the Kremlin acknowledged the importance of mutual international cooperation.
Key Questions Answered
The US urged Russia to share more details following the death of a 28-year-old lab worker named Darya Shipilova at a plague research centre in Siberia, which sparked global speculation and prompted nearly 200 people to be placed under medical observation.
Russia's health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor stated that the lab worker died of pneumonia of an undetermined etiology, maintaining that no cases of pneumonic plague have been recorded in Irkutsk and that all tracked contacts have tested negative and show no symptoms.
Pneumonic plague, caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium found in regional rodents, is nearly always fatal if left untreated and can transmit from person to person, though it can be successfully overcome using antibiotics.
