The mother of a Russian anti-plague scientist who died in a lab accident has accused officials of letting her daughter die, saying she has not been told the cause of death. Daria Shipilova's mother Svetlana, a doctor, said she and other relatives are in quarantine and have not been able to bury the 28-year-old researcher.
Mother's accusation
Svetlana said doctors did not save her daughter, adding: "They simply let my daughter die." She said she has not been told the cause of death four days after her daughter's death. "I'm waiting for it to become official. Not just something in the media; it has to be an official document. It's very hard for me right now. This whole spectacle drags on," she said.
Teams in protective suits repeatedly disinfected the home of Shipilova in Irkutsk after her death, raising fears of a deadly outbreak. Reports in Russian state media suggested she had broken a test tube, which could have led to infection and the potential spread of a highly dangerous disease from the anti-plague laboratory where she worked.
Test tube claims dismissed
Svetlana dismissed the test tube claims, saying: "I don't want to read nasty things about my child. I know the truth." She added: "Only an amateur would say something like that. Even hypothetically, it's simply impossible to spill or break it. They are so heavily protected."
She told Glubina media from quarantine: "Dasha hasn't been buried yet. Who is going to bury her if we are sitting here imprisoned?" She described her daughter as a hard worker and a "genuinely decent person — a real workaholic" who had been hired after impressing her supervisor during an internship.
Disinfection and official response
Three vehicles arrived at Shipilova's apartment block around 10pm on October 2, with workers in orange protective suits and gas masks carrying containers and treating both entrances with a pungent chemical, according to People of Baikal news outlet. Neighbours said the smell was so strong they had to open doors to breathe. Workers were sent by Russian health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor and told locals: "Some girl died, a deadly dangerous virus." The building has since been disinfected twice more.
Officials have said Shipilova died of "pneumonia of unknown aetiology" and tests have failed to detect microorganisms connected with her work at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute. Rospotrebnadzor has denied any accident involving dangerous pathogens occurred at the laboratory.
Shipilova's death prompted a major emergency response. Putin's chief sanitary doctor Anna Popova flew to Irkutsk. At the city's perinatal centre, pregnant women were handed questionnaires headed 'Checklist in the event of suspected particularly dangerous infection – Plague'. Scientists are testing samples from hospital patients with cold-like symptoms. Neighbours say they have not been quarantined or swabbed, but are receiving daily calls asking whether they have developed symptoms. Notices warned of a "major rise in illness in your building" and ordered residents to contact health officials. Regional governor Igor Kobzev insists the situation is "completely under control", and no additional deaths have been confirmed.
