{"id":2680893,"date":"2026-10-10T19:36:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T23:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cause-of-death-in-russian-pneumonia-case-still-unknown-world-health-organization-says\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T19:38:47","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T23:38:47","slug":"cause-of-death-in-russian-pneumonia-case-still-unknown-world-health-organization-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cause-of-death-in-russian-pneumonia-case-still-unknown-world-health-organization-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Cause of death in Russian pneumonia case still unknown, World Health Organization says"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcause-of-death-in-russian-pneumonia-case-still-unknown-world-health-organization-says%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2680893&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Saturday that it cannot independently confirm the cause of death of a 28-year-old Russian woman, Darya shipilova, who worked at a laboratory studying plague and other diseases. Her death on October 2 led to the quarantine and medical observation of nearly 200 Russian citizens, although initial tests of contacts were negative. reports suggest she may have become ill after breaking a vial in the lab, but this remains unconfirmed.<\/p>\n<p>WHO is awaiting more details from Moscow before releasing a comprehensive statement. Current data indicates no evidence of ongoing transmission, and tests did not identify plague or other high-threat pathogens.However, due to the lack of a confirmed diagnosis, WHO cannot exclude the possibility of laboratory exposure. Russia denies any second plague case, and U.S. authorities have requested further information but do not view the incident as a threat to Americans.<\/p>\n<p>the situation has raised concerns due to the highly virulent nature of pneumonic plague, which can spread via respiratory droplets, although outbreaks have been largely subdued since the 1990s. The WHO continues to monitor the incident as investigations proceed.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-first wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/world-health-organization\/\">World Health Organization<\/a> said on Saturday it still cannot independently confirm what caused the recent death of a 28-year-old <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia\/\">Russian<\/a> woman who worked at a lab studying plague and other <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/disease\/\">diseases<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Darya Shipilova\u2019s Oct. 2 death prompted the quarantine and medical observation of nearly 200 Russian citizens two days after she was hospitalized while working at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia. The initial laboratory results of \u201call identified contact persons\u201d were negative, and none showed signs of illness, according to <strong><\/strong>Rospotrebnadzor, the nation\u2019s public health regulator. An <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4757067\/state-department-russia-plague-information-request\/\">initial, unconfirmed report<\/a> claimed <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4753577\/russian-researcher-studied-plague-died-mysterious-illness-what-to-know\/\">Shipilova became sick<\/a> after accidentally breaking a vial in the laboratory.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<style>.explore-more-section { background: var(--wex-bg); border-top: 1px solid #ffffff; border-bottom: 1px solid #ffffff; margin: 24px 0; margin-top: -20px; }<\/style>\n<style id=\"mos-82e35116-1835-4894-8d50-e3b7d187cdf8-style\">@scope (#mos-82e35116-1835-4894-8d50-e3b7d187cdf8) { .we-meter {   --we-red: #DB3745;   --we-charcoal: #323E48;   --we-blue: #15BEF0;   --we-slate: #85A0AB;   --we-gold: #ECC270;   --we-text: #323E48; 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<\/script>     <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Moscow Times<\/em> said initially that \u201cmedia reports have described the suspected infection as pneumonic plague,\u201d while global worries about such an outbreak circulated on social media. The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/covid-19\/\">COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> has heightened global health leaders\u2019 concerns about laboratory leaks since the virus first emerged in Wuhan, China, in 2020 and spread worldwide.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WHO officials said on Wednesday they were pressing Moscow for more details on the incident before publishing Saturday\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/emergencies\/disease-outbreak-news\/item\/2026-DON620\">lengthy statement<\/a>, which outlined its risk assessment profile and communications with Russian authorities to date. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBased on the information provided by NFP, WHO has not identified evidence of ongoing transmission associated with this event,\u201d the statement said. \u201cA key uncertainty remains the absence of a confirmed diagnosis in the deceased laboratory worker.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAccording to the information provided by the national authorities, testing did not identify plague or other tested high-threat pathogens, and the death has been classified as pneumonia of an undetermined etiology,\u201d it also said. \u201cGiven the absence of a confirmed diagnosis, WHO is not in a position to independently assess whether the duration of the reported monitoring period for contacts was sufficient to exclude all plausible causes of the fatal illness.\u201d WHO also noted, \u201ca laboratory-associated exposure therefore cannot be fully excluded at this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4759087\/russia-denies-second-plague-case-who-more-information\/\"><strong>RUSSIA DENIES ANOTHER PLAGUE CASE AS WHO PRESSES FOR MORE INFORMATION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pneumonic plague, widely regarded as the most virulent form of plague, can spread from person to person via respiratory droplets. Outbreaks have <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4759087\/russia-denies-second-plague-case-who-more-information\/\">largely been subdued<\/a> since the 1990s, when thousands died in China\u2019s Manchurian Plague.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rospotrebnadzor denied rumors later in the week that a second person in the country was infected with the plague. United States authorities have <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4757681\/trump-russian-plague-bioweapon\/\">requested more information<\/a> from Moscow but have otherwise said the incident doesn\u2019t pose a threat to American citizens.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WHO cannot confirm cause of Russian lab worker&#8217;s death<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3238,"featured_media":2680894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AP26280464709927.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[38906,36377,39465,87032,75847],"class_list":["post-2680893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-cause-of-death","tag-health-news","tag-infectious-diseases","tag-russian-pneumonia","tag-who-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AP26280464709927.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2680893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3238"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2680893"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2680893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2680897,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2680893\/revisions\/2680897"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2680894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2680893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2680893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2680893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}