A researcher in her 20s who studied dangerous pathogens in Russia has died of pneumonia of unknown origin, and more than a week later the exact cause of death remains undisclosed. Questions from the international community are mounting.
Darya Shipilova, 28, a researcher at Russia's Plague Research Institute for Siberia and the Far East, died on the 2nd, The New York Times reported on the 11th. The officially stated cause of death is pneumonia of unknown origin, and which pathogen caused the death has yet to be confirmed.
Shipilova had handled high-risk pathogens, including the plague bacterium, in her work, according to reports.
Russian health authorities said they examined Shipilova's remains but detected neither the plague bacterium nor any of the other dangerous pathogens handled at the institute. They also said they inspected the institute twice but found no circumstances suggesting a pathogen leak or any other emergency.
Tests on people who had been in contact with Shipilova turned up no additional infections, according to reports.
The issue is that the cause of death has not been disclosed even though large-scale testing was carried out. Thousands of tests are said to have been conducted. Yet Russian authorities have so far offered no clear explanation of which pathogen infected Shipilova.
Some experts believe that, given the current state of testing technology, the authorities may already have completed genomic analysis to identify the cause.
Raj Panjabi, who served as a White House public health official during the Biden administration, said it is worrying that the results are not being released even though the testing has most likely already been done.
The World Health Organization is also pressing Russia for a more detailed explanation. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's head of epidemic and pandemic preparedness, asked what the actual cause of death was if plague had been ruled out. The WHO says it has not received sufficient information from Russia to conduct its own risk assessment.
The United States is watching the case closely as well. Interest has grown as the case intersects with U.S. intelligence agencies' existing assessment that Russia may be maintaining a biological weapons program.
U.S. intelligence agencies said, however, that they have so far found no indication that biological weapons research was actually being conducted at the institute where Shipilova worked.
Experts stressed that Shipilova's death should not be linked directly to biological weapons research or a pathogen leak merely because Russian authorities have not disclosed enough information.