(IRKUTSK) – Russian national newspapers are continuing to avoid coverage of the death of a laboratory worker at a plague research institute in Siberia, even as the Kremlin, international health agencies and foreign governments have commented on the incident.
The worker, identified by local media as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova, died in the early hours of 2nd October at Shelekhov District Hospital near Irkutsk. According to the BBC’s Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg, the official cause of death was listed as “pneumonia of unknown aetiology” .
Shipilova worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. She was hospitalised on 29th September and died two days later . The hospital was placed under quarantine, and nearly 200 people who had been in contact with her were placed under medical observation .
The regional governor of Buryatia, Alexei Tsydenov, initially stated on social media that the woman had “died of plague,” a claim that was later amended to say she had “possibly” died of plague . Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s public health watchdog, subsequently stated that extensive testing found “no microorganisms associated with the patient’s professional activities” and that the cause of death was pneumonia of undetermined aetiology .
Despite the official denial, the story has not appeared in Russia’s national morning newspapers. According to Rosenberg, the only medical item in the government paper Rossiyskaya Gazeta was a report on new strains of flu appearing in Russia. Coverage elsewhere focused on the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s activities with teachers, the corruption conviction of a former official and his wife, and claims that European countries are heading towards a new escalation in relations with Russia.
Rosenberg also noted that local state television in Irkutsk, which reported the lab worker’s death on 5th October, did not mention the epidemiological situation in its 11:30 bulletin the following morning. The top stories were local volunteers sending camouflage netting and trench candles to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, repairs to the admissions department of Irkutsk City Hospital Number One, cleaning of local monuments ahead of winter, and two deaths from bear attacks in the region.
The TASS news agency quoted Rospotrebnadzor as saying that the epidemiological situation in Irkutsk and Shelekhov was “calm” . Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged journalists to rely on official statements from Rospotrebnadzor rather than “rumours and speculation” .
The United States is monitoring the situation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was no “cause for alarm” but that the situation “is cause for focus” . The World Health Organization has noted that plague has a high fatality rate but is easily treated with antibiotics .
The humour section of the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets carried a medical-themed joke: “It’s often said that the handwriting of doctors is messy because they’re so busy. You were a doctor, too, but your handwriting is beautiful. Why should I rush? I’m a pathologist.”
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