Kazakhstan's Ministry of Health has assessed the risk of plague being imported from Russia as low. The reason was the death of a 28-year-old female employee of the anti-plague institute in Irkutsk Oblast, after which 197 contacts were placed under medical observation.
WHAT HAPPENED IN IRKUTSK OBLAST
According to Russian media, an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, Darya Shipilova, died in the early hours of 2 October at Shelekhov District Hospital in Irkutsk Oblast. She was hospitalised with symptoms resembling coronavirus and connected to a mechanical ventilation (MV) machine.
According to Mash, a test tube containing the causative agent of pneumonic plague broke in the institute's laboratory while the woman was collecting biomaterial for diagnostics, after which she began to feel unwell.
According to another version, Darya Shipilova may have become infected during a work trip to Buryatia.
After the patient's death, the inpatient unit of Shelekhov Hospital was placed under quarantine, and admissions and discharges of patients in several departments were suspended. A meeting was held in Irkutsk involving security services and heads of administrative agencies.
As "People of Baikal" noted, the administration of Baikalsk published a recommendation not to travel to Shelekhov, and then deleted the message. The publication also reported the deletion of several REN TV reports about the spread of plague and that the head of Buryatia, Alexey Tsydenov, changed the wording about the cause of death — the word "possibly" appeared in it.
PLAGUE OR NOT
The first to report the death from plague was the head of Buryatia, Alexey Tsydenov. On 2 October, he wrote that the woman had died from this infection, but later softened the wording.
On 4 October, Rospotrebnadzor stated that the situation in Irkutsk Oblast was stable and no cases of plague had been identified. The agency named pneumonia of unknown origin as the cause of death. The Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute itself did not publicly comment on the situation.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE UNDER OBSERVATION
197 contacts were placed under medical observation, 189 of them were hospitalised. According to Kobzev, they show no signs of illness, and laboratory tests returned negative results. Rospotrebnadzor on 4 October also reported negative tests for all contacts.
Epidemiologist, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Gennady Onishchenko said in an interview with TASS that the incubation period of plague is about seven days. He also suggested that there could be a case of "some exotic infection" in Irkutsk Oblast. According to him, all natural plague foci in Russia are under constant control.
WHAT IS HAPPENING AT KAZAKHSTAN'S BORDER
According to data from the Ministry of Health, sanitary-quarantine control is in operation at all checkpoints across the state border. No passengers with elevated temperature, signs of illness or suspected especially dangerous infections were identified.
The assessment of the situation and the measures being taken will be updated as official information becomes available.
Kazakhstanis who develop signs of illness after travelling are advised to consult a doctor and report where and when they were.
Separately, the Centre for Combating Disinformation urged people not to give in to manipulation and to verify information through official sources. According to its data, social media are linking rumours about plague in Russia to a fire at the National Scientific Centre for Especially Dangerous Infections. The centre called this link false.
CONTEXT
A few days before the events in Irkutsk Oblast, FBK wrote about a suspicion of another especially dangerous infection in Kazakhstan. According to sources, on 28 September 2026, a man arrived at the admissions department of the multidisciplinary hospital in the city of Balhash complaining of pain and an infected wound. A medical worker gave a preliminary diagnosis of "anthrax, cutaneous form" with a question mark, and the patient was transferred to the infectious diseases department.
A few days before seeking treatment, the man had helped an acquaintance carry meat carcasses at a market and scratched his left hand. The hospital refused to confirm the information, citing medical confidentiality.
