Kremlin rejects speculation about plague in Irkutsk Region

05.10.2026 19:25 HotInfo

Russian authorities are denying reports of an alleged plague outbreak in the Irkutsk Region in Siberia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitrij Peskov on Monday urged the public not to believe spreading rumors and speculation about a possible outbreak of the disease. hnonline.sk ↗

The reaction came after the death of 28-year-old laboratory assistant Dária Šipilovová, who worked at an institute researching and preventing plague. The woman was hospitalized with severe pneumonia and died two days later. Russian authorities said the cause was pneumonia, while the circumstances of the case remain under scrutiny. sme.sk ↗

After the incident, dozens to nearly two hundred people were placed in quarantine. The quarantine measures applied to hospitals and to persons who may have come into contact with the laboratory facility. However, authorities have not officially confirmed that plague broke out in the region. RTE News ↗

Peskov also stated that the main authority with competence in this area is Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian agency for consumer protection and public health supervision. According to available statements, this body is monitoring the epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk Region. STVR (Minúta po minúte) ↗

The case has also raised concern outside Russia. The European Commission said it is monitoring reports of the laboratory incident very closely. Further developments will depend on the results of the investigation into the cause of death and on the epidemiological measures in the region. Politico Europe ↗

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