Key facts
- Russian health authorities have reported no recent plague case in Irkutsk Oblast.
- They reported that preventive measures, including epidemiological investigations and medical observation and testing of contacts have been completed; and no high-threat pathogen was detected in any of the identified contacts.
- WHO has requested further information on the cause of the severe pneumonia in the 28-year-old laboratory technician, pathogen that triggered the public health measures and media reports of a second employee with pneumonia of unknown aetiology.
- ECDC is closely monitoring this signal and is in contact with WHO to verify the information.
- The available information of this event is not sufficient to draw a firm conclusion regarding the potential risk to the EU population. The assessment will be reviewed should additional information become available.
Overview
Update: On 6 October 2026, World Health Organization's Director General reported that, in response to WHO's verification request, Russian health authorities reported no recent plague case in Irkutsk Oblast. They reported that preventive measures, including epidemiological investigations and medical observation and testing of contacts have been completed. Moreover, Russian health authorities reported no high-threat pathogen detected in any of the identified contacts.
WHO has requested further information on the cause of the severe pneumonia in the 28-year-old laboratory technician, pathogen that triggered the public health measures and media reports of a second employee with pneumonia of unknown aetiology.
Background: On 2 October 2026, according to multiple media reports with pending verification, authorities in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, initiated emergency anti-epidemic measures following the death of a 28-year-old laboratory technician, employed at the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East. Media reports, Russian authorities have officially classified the case as "pneumonia of unknown aetiology".
According to media reports, the patient allegedly experienced a laboratory incident on 25 September 2026, when she reportedly broke a tube containing Yersinia pestis while working with live biological material. These reports have not been confirmed. Russian health authorities have reported no recent plague case in Irkutsk Oblast. Following the alleged incident, she reportedly became unwell within several days and was admitted to Shelekhov District Hospital on 29 September 2026 with severe pneumonia. Initial clinical suspicion reportedly included severe COVID-19; however, her condition deteriorated rapidly, requiring intensive care and mechanical ventilation. She died during the night of 1-2 October 2026 in the intensive care unit of Shelekhov District Hospital.
On 2 October 2026, the Governor announced that a suspected case of a "particularly dangerous infection" was under investigation and confirmed that a full package of anti-epidemic measures had been initiated. An extraordinary meeting of the regional sanitary and anti-epidemic commission was convened with participation of Head of Rospotrebnadzor and Chief State Sanitary Physician of the Russian Federation. An operational response plan was approved and contact tracing was initiated.
Public health measures included quarantine restrictions at Shelekhov District Hospital, suspension of admissions and discharges in affected departments, enhanced epidemiological investigations and medical monitoring of contacts. Russian media reported that approximately 189-200 contacts were placed under observation, including institute staff, healthcare workers, ambulance personnel and hospital patients. Identified 189 contacts have been isolated in medical institutions, of which 114 patients are in one hospital, 63 in another, and another 12 people are kept in the anti-plague institute. The Governor stated that all identified contacts were under medical supervision and had negative laboratory test results at the time of reporting.
Additional precautionary measures reported by Russian and independent media included cancellation of public events in Irkutsk, mandatory mask use at some workplaces, quarantine of several healthcare facilities, including the Shelekhov hospital, were the deceased person was hospitalised, and isolation of contacts in designated hospitals.
On 4-5 October 2026, Rospotrebnadzor, according to media reported that expanded laboratory investigations did not identify microorganisms associated with the deceased patient's professional activities. The agency stated that no laboratory accidents involving pathogenic microorganisms had been documented at the institute, no infectious disease clusters had been identified among staff, and the patient had been diagnosed with "pneumonia of unknown aetiology". Rospotrebnadzor further described the sanitary-epidemiological situation in Irkutsk and Shelekhov as stable.
No autochthonous plague cases have been reported in the EU/EEA in the last decades. The largest outbreak of pneumonic plague was reported in 2017 in Madagascar for which ECDC has previously published Rapid Risk Assessment: Outbreak of pneumonic plague in Madagascar: recent introduction in the Seychelles.
For more information about plague, please see ECDC factsheet.
Sources: media source 1, media source 2, media source 3, media source 4, WHO's Director General post