Inside the plague research labs at the heart of a Russian mystery

• A Russian lab worker, Darya Shipilova, died from a mystery infection at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, and officials have ruled out pneumonic plague but not yet named the cause.
• The case has renewed concern over Russia’s secretive Anti-Plague System, which began in the Soviet era to track plague, kill rodents and prevent outbreaks across vast regions.
• Experts say many former Soviet labs once had poor safety and secrecy, though some have improved; Russia’s closed facilities make it hard to judge current biosafety, and officials deny any protocol failure.

MOSCOW - Nearly two weeks after a 28-year-old researcher died from a mysterious infection while working in a Russian plague research laboratory, health officials around the world are still waiting for answers.

Darya Shipilova, a lab worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, was initially reported to have contracted pneumonic plague, raising concerns about the kinds of research being conducted at the facility and the safety measures employed there.