Local Russian media reported that Darya Shipilova accidentally broke a test tube containing live pneumonic plague bacteria on September 25, 2026, prior to falling ill.

From the articleRussia plays down plague fears and denies lab accident, says scientist died of "pneumonia of unknown origin"Also in content frame, Map Shows Countries Hit by Plague as Russian Lab Worker Dies, Russian lab worker dies of suspected plague as hundreds placed in quarantine, Plague death triggers quarantine, mask mandates in Russia's Irkutsk region in Siberia