Scant information provided by Russia means that a lab accident cannot be ruled out, say health experts

Anne Gulland

Deputy Editor, Global Health Security

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Anne Gulland is Deputy Editor for The Telegraph’s Global Health Security desk. She has written about health for more than 20 years and has had work published in a range of titles including academic journals such as The BMJ and Nature.

Published 12 October 2026 4:28pm BST

The World Health Organization has said it still does not have enough information to rule out a lab accident after the death of a worker in a Russian plague lab.

Last week reports emerged that Darya Shipilova, a lab worker in Irkutsk, Siberia, had died of pneumonic plague after dropping a test tube containing samples of the pathogen Yersinia pestis , which causes the disease.

Some 200 people were quarantined and there were reports of a further case.…