The US Embassy in Moscow issued a health alert citing reports of the suspected fatal infection, quarantines and hospital closures in Irkutsk. It warned that Washington has limited ability to assist Americans in Russia, especially outside Moscow, and reiterated the existing Level 4 advisory against travel to Russia, which urges Americans already there to leave immediately.
Darya Shipilova, 28, an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, died overnight Oct. 1–2 after developing severe pneumonia, prompting medical observation of nearly 200 contacts. Russian authorities say her pneumonia was of unknown origin, tests found no pathogens linked to her work and no plague was detected among her contacts. They deny a laboratory accident. The WHO assesses the international health risk as “very low,” and the CDC says there is no indication of a broader threat to the US.