On Saturday, I posted about what appeared to be a lab leak of the Pneumonic plague in Siberia. A lab technician broke a test tube with the bacterium, contracted the disease, and died rapidly.
The news was fairly confused early on about what happened and what Russia was doing about it, but the situation is becoming clearer, despite the Russians remaining closed-mouthed, as is their wont.
Almost 200 people are under medical observation in Russia’s Siberia region after the death of a 28-year-old lab worker who may have been exposed to pneumonic plague, according to local media reports. https://t.co/75JhGK0Qrr
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 5, 2026
At first there was a question about whether what occurred was a lab leak at all, because among the technicians' reported duties was collecting samples in places where the plague is endemic in animal reservoirs. Most people probably don't know that the plague is still around, unlike smallpox, and people do still contract it. It is treatable if caught in time, but monitoring it clearly benefits the public.
Marco Rubio says suspected Russia plague outbreak ‘cause for focus’ but not alarm https://t.co/4ZCb89bSsi https://t.co/kggdIXlwOI
— New York Post (@nypost) October 5, 2026
However, the plague is also studied as a potential bioweapon, and the work being done may have been related to that. The FSB is involved, which is not a great sign, and the Russians seem especially paranoid about the spread, which is relatively rare among human beings. The pneumonic plague does spread through droplets, so there would be nothing particularly suspicious if somebody else caught it, but if the responders are all wearing hazmat suits when walking around outside, that's a tell that the Russians are particularly concerned.
There are now reports from Shelekhov in Siberia about men walking in the city in hazmat suits. The hospital is quarantined and the pharmacies in the city of ran out of antibiotics. The 28-year-old laboratory technician Darya Shipilova died on Friday at hospital in the city after accidentally breaking a test sample with Yersinia pestis at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute and contracting pneumonic plague. Her laboratory was a Biosafety Level 3 lab
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) October 5, 2026
Dr. Robert Malone reported in his newsletter that, as of now, five...count 'em, five...hospitals in the region have been closed and put under three-week quarantines. That is quite the response, and something that catches the eye and increases the heart rate a bit. It could mean that Russians have learned their lessons from previous lab leaks and other disasters, but it could also mean that they know a lot of disturbing things we don't.
🚨 MUST WATCH VIDEO: President Trump addresses growing concerns out of Russia. REPORTER: "Are you concerned about the outbreak in Russia?" PRESIDENT TRUMP: "I am. The pneumonia plague, if you call it. That's a disease we used to be able to control, but somehow those microbes have gotten stronger and smarter. They're like an army. The germs have really become relatively stronger than they were, and things that used to work on pneumonia don't work as well anymore." America's Mayor Live 🇺🇸
— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) October 5, 2026
Also of interest is the fact that prominent Western public health officials are watching closely. That's related to the potential bioweapons angle. And nobody is confident that the Russians will admit anything, even if there is a larger danger. Autocracies tend not to do that. See: China.
Here's what we know. A 28-year-old technician at an "anti-plague institute" reportedly broke a tube containing plague pathogen on September 25. She died October 1 or 2. Nearly 200 people are now in medical isolation 2/n
— Ashish K. Jha (@ashishkjha) October 5, 2026
There are also reports of FSB involvement in the current response Security services accompanying ambulances transporting exposed contacts. If accurate, that's not the posture of a routine natural outbreak, even a normal lab accident 4/n
— Ashish K. Jha (@ashishkjha) October 5, 2026
US intelligence assess that Russia's scientists continue developing biological weapons capabilities Those programs operate in secret Nobody outside inspects them and nobody inside has much incentive to admit when something goes wrong
— Ashish K. Jha (@ashishkjha) October 5, 2026
Here's the real bottom line: The number of labs working on dangerous pathogens is growing worldwide That means incidents like this will happen more often in the months and years ahead
— Ashish K. Jha (@ashishkjha) October 5, 2026
For now, there is no reason to panic, but as Secretary of State Marco Rubio says, it's something to watch.
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