Inside the plague research labs at the heart of a Russian mystery
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A satellite image of the Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East in Irkutsk, Russia, on May 8, 2025.
PHOTO: REUTERS
K. R. Callaway
- A Russian lab worker, Darya Shipilova, died from a mystery infection at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, and officials have ruled out pneumonic plague but not yet named the cause.
- The case has renewed concern over Russia’s secretive Anti-Plague System, which began in the Soviet era to track plague, kill rodents and prevent outbreaks across vast regions.
- Experts say many former Soviet labs once had poor safety and secrecy, though some have improved; Russia’s closed facilities make it hard to judge current biosafety, and officials deny any protocol failure.
AI generated
MOSCOW - Nearly two weeks after a 28-year-old researcher died from a mysterious infection while working in a Russian plague research laboratory, health officials around the world are still waiting for answers.
Darya Shipilova, a lab worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, was initially reported to have contracted pneumonic plague, raising concerns about the kinds of research being conducted at the facility and the safety measures employed there.