{
 "title": "Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute incident: tracker data",
 "publisher": "Lab Leak Monitor",
 "url": "https://lableakmonitor.com/",
 "license": "CC BY 4.0",
 "citation": "Lab Leak Monitor, https://lableakmonitor.com/",
 "updated": "6 Oct 2026",
 "updateNo": 5,
 "generatedAt": "2026-10-06T21:35:09.882Z",
 "statusLabels": {
  "confirmed": "Confirmed",
  "reported": "Reported, unconfirmed",
  "denied": "Officially denied",
  "false": "Not true",
  "active": "In force",
  "lifted": "Lifted",
  "unknown": "Unknown",
  "none": "None"
 },
 "keyFacts": [
  {
   "t": "One death is confirmed: Darya Shipilova, 28, a laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, died overnight on 1–2 October 2026 at Shelekhov district hospital.",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "src": "The Moscow Times",
   "url": "https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/02/nearly-200-people-under-observation-after-irkutsk-lab-worker-dies-from-plague-a93857"
  },
  {
   "t": "Russia's health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor gives the cause as “pneumonia of undetermined etiology” and denies both plague and a laboratory accident.",
   "s": [
    "confirmed",
    "denied"
   ],
   "src": "Lenta.ru",
   "url": "https://lenta.ru/news/2026/10/04/v-rospotrebnadzore-vyskazalis-o-situatsii-v-protivochumnom-institute-irkutska/"
  },
  {
   "t": "Plague has not been confirmed. WHO says laboratory testing is underway and has invoked the International Health Regulations to verify the event.",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "src": "UN News (WHO)",
   "url": "https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/10/1168533"
  },
  {
   "t": "WHO rates the risk as moderate to low for Irkutsk Oblast, low for Russia and very low for the WHO European Region. ECDC sees no secondary cases and no sustained human-to-human transmission (6 October).",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "src": "UN News (WHO); ECDC",
   "url": "https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/10/1168533"
  },
  {
   "t": "About 197 contacts were identified and 189 hospitalised. By 5 October, 60% had completed observation and no secondary cases had been found.",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "src": "Interfax (Rospotrebnadzor)",
   "url": "https://www.interfax.ru/russia/1120505"
  },
  {
   "t": "Reported but unconfirmed: she broke a tube of live bacteria around 25 September, and a second person has died. Officials deny the first and have not acknowledged the second.",
   "s": [
    "reported"
   ],
   "src": "RFE/RL; UNITED24",
   "url": "https://www.rferl.org/amp/russia-plague-warning-siberia-irkutsk-laboratory/33870385.html"
  },
  {
   "t": "Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have tightened health checks at their borders. No country has closed its border.",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "src": "Times of Central Asia",
   "url": "https://timesca.com/reports-of-suspected-plague-in-russia-prompt-central-asian-health-checks/"
  },
  {
   "t": "In Brussels, the EU's Health Security Committee discusses the case on 7 October 2026. The EU has taken no measures.",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "src": "Euronews (European Commission)",
   "url": "https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/06/eu-countries-to-discuss-suspected-plague-outbreak-in-russia"
  },
  {
   "t": "A criminal case is open under Article 236(2) of Russia's Criminal Code: a sanitary-rules violation causing death.",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "src": "Meduza",
   "url": "https://meduza.io/feature/2026/10/06/v-irkutskoy-oblasti-umerla-sotrudnitsa-protivochumnogo-instituta-vlasti-vveli-karantin-no-otritsayut-ugrozu-chumy"
  }
 ],
 "figures": [
  {
   "k": "Confirmed plague cases",
   "v": "0",
   "n": "Plague officially denied",
   "src": "Rospotrebnadzor, 4–6 Oct"
  },
  {
   "k": "Confirmed deaths",
   "v": "1",
   "n": "Lab worker, 28. A 2nd death is reported, unconfirmed",
   "hot": true,
   "src": "Rospotrebnadzor; Governor Kobzev, 2 Oct. Second death: UK tabloids citing unnamed sources, 6 Oct"
  },
  {
   "k": "Contacts identified",
   "v": "197",
   "n": "189 hospitalised at peak",
   "src": "Governor Kobzev / Rospotrebnadzor, 2 Oct"
  },
  {
   "k": "Still under observation",
   "v": "40%",
   "n": "60% released by 5 Oct",
   "src": "Rospotrebnadzor via Interfax, 5 Oct"
  },
  {
   "k": "Secondary cases",
   "v": "0",
   "n": "No symptomatic contacts",
   "src": "WHO, 6 Oct"
  }
 ],
 "who": {
  "date": "6 Oct 2026",
  "url": "https://www.unognewsroom.org/story/en/3289/irkutsk-suspected-plague-death-who",
  "main": {
   "area": "Irkutsk Oblast",
   "range": [
    1,
    2
   ],
   "label": "Moderate to low"
  },
  "others": [
   {
    "area": "Russia",
    "level": 1,
    "label": "Low"
   },
   {
    "area": "WHO Europe",
    "level": 0,
    "label": "Very low"
   }
  ],
  "note": "WHO initial risk assessment, 6 Oct. WHO has invoked the International Health Regulations to verify the event. To be updated as information arrives."
 },
 "daily": [
  {
   "d": "6",
   "m": "Oct",
   "dow": "Tue",
   "sum": "WHO invokes international health rules and the EU puts the case on its Health Security Committee agenda. A second death is reported by UK tabloids but not confirmed.",
   "figs": [
    [
     "Secondary cases",
     "0"
    ],
    [
     "Symptomatic contacts",
     "0"
    ]
   ],
   "items": [
    {
     "t": "UK tabloids (Daily Mail, Mirror) report a second death in the Shelekhov hospital isolation zone, citing unnamed local journalists. No official source or named Russian outlet confirms it.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "UNITED24 Media; Insider Paper",
     "url": "https://united24media.com/world/russian-media-report-second-death-amid-suspected-plague-outbreak-in-siberia-23177"
    },
    {
     "t": "WHO says authorities are checking whether pneumonic plague caused the death. All contacts are identified and monitored, and none have symptoms.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "WHO via UN Geneva",
     "url": "https://www.unognewsroom.org/story/en/3289/irkutsk-suspected-plague-death-who"
    },
    {
     "t": "ECDC: no secondary cases and no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission. Plague can be treated with antibiotics readily available in the EU, where there has been no case for decades.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "ECDC",
     "url": "https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/ecdc-closely-monitoring-situation-following-case-pneumonia-unknown-origin-russia"
    },
    {
     "t": "European Commission: the case is on the agenda of the EU Health Security Committee, which meets in Brussels on Wednesday morning, 7 Oct. No EU measures so far.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "Euronews",
     "url": "https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/06/eu-countries-to-discuss-suspected-plague-outbreak-in-russia"
    },
    {
     "t": "WHO says it contacted Russian authorities on 3 Oct and invoked the International Health Regulations to verify the event. The illness first looked like a typical acute respiratory infection.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "UN News",
     "url": "https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/10/1168533"
    },
    {
     "t": "Rospotrebnadzor's Irkutsk office says a document about “strict restrictions” circulating online is not official, and no such decisions were made.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "AiF Irkutsk",
     "url": "https://irk.aif.ru/society/rospotrebnadzor-oproverg-sluhi-ob-ogranicheniyah-v-irkutskoy-oblasti"
    },
    {
     "t": "US CDC: “no indication of a broader threat to the United States”.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "NBC News",
     "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/world/russia/russia-says-no-plague-found-contacts-siberian-lab-worker-died-rcna601805"
    },
    {
     "t": "Rospotrebnadzor repeats that the cause was “pneumonia of undetermined etiology” and the region is “calm”.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "Vedomosti",
     "url": "https://www.vedomosti.ru/society/news/2026/10/06/1234463-rospotrebnadzor-nazval"
    },
    {
     "t": "Meduza publishes Lyudi Baikala's reportage from Irkutsk and Shelekhov, including a list of state-media stories deleted on 2–3 Oct.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "Meduza",
     "url": "https://meduza.io/feature/2026/10/06/v-irkutskoy-oblasti-umerla-sotrudnitsa-protivochumnogo-instituta-vlasti-vveli-karantin-no-otritsayut-ugrozu-chumy"
    },
    {
     "t": "Hospitals reportedly hand out questionnaires on plague symptoms. US Secretary of State Rubio: it is “incumbent upon Russia” to share more information.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "CNN",
     "url": "https://abc17news.com/news/national-world/cnn-world/2026/10/06/checklists-masks-and-mystery-what-we-know-about-the-plague-scare-in-russia/"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "d": "5",
   "m": "Oct",
   "dow": "Mon",
   "sum": "60% of contacts finish observation. Central Asian states tighten border checks.",
   "figs": [
    [
     "Observation completed",
     "60%"
    ],
    [
     "Still observed",
     "40%"
    ]
   ],
   "items": [
    {
     "t": "Rospotrebnadzor: observation completed for 60% of contacts. The situation is “calm”.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "Interfax",
     "url": "https://www.interfax.ru/russia/1120505"
    },
    {
     "t": "Governor Kobzev calls the situation “stable” and says quarantined relatives could be discharged next week.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "The Moscow Times",
     "url": "https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/05/officials-seek-to-reassure-public-after-irkutsk-anti-plague-institute-workers-death-a93872"
    },
    {
     "t": "Kremlin spokesman Peskov tells people to rely on official Rospotrebnadzor statements.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "Meduza",
     "url": "https://meduza.io/feature/2026/10/06/v-irkutskoy-oblasti-umerla-sotrudnitsa-protivochumnogo-instituta-vlasti-vveli-karantin-no-otritsayut-ugrozu-chumy"
    },
    {
     "t": "US Secretary of State Rubio: “watching and monitoring it closely”, “not cause for alarm”. Trump offers help; Shelekhov's deputy mayor replies “we will manage ourselves”.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "Al Jazeera; Meduza",
     "url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/5/russian-lab-worker-dies-of-suspected-plague-in-siberia-us-monitoring-case"
    },
    {
     "t": "Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan tighten sanitary checks at their borders. No closures.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "Times of Central Asia",
     "url": "https://timesca.com/reports-of-suspected-plague-in-russia-prompt-central-asian-health-checks/"
    },
    {
     "t": "All 114 patients are being kept inside Shelekhov hospital. Authorities have not explained why quarantines are needed.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "Current Time; Sibir.Realii",
     "url": "https://www.currenttime.tv/a/pnevmoniya-neustanovlennoy-etiologii-vlasti-irkutskoy-oblasti-otritsayut-sluhi-o-chume-no-vveli-karantin-v-chasti-bolnits/33870500.html"
    },
    {
     "t": "Mongolia's National Center for Zoonotic Diseases asks Russia for an official explanation and is told plague “has not been confirmed”.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "Ukrmedia (secondary)",
     "url": "https://ukrmedia.news/en/world/central-asia-border-control-irkutsk/"
    },
    {
     "t": "Irkutsk City Hospital No. 1 says it is working normally, according to the Russian fact-check site Lapsha Media.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "Lapsha Media",
     "url": "https://lapsha.media/feiky/irkutsk-bolnicy-chuma/"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "d": "4",
   "m": "Oct",
   "dow": "Sun",
   "sum": "Rospotrebnadzor gives the cause as “pneumonia of undetermined etiology” and denies a lab accident. Independent media report 21-day quarantines.",
   "figs": [
    [
     "Dangerous pathogens in contacts",
     "0"
    ],
    [
     "COVID-19 / rhinovirus",
     "2 / 2"
    ]
   ],
   "items": [
    {
     "t": "Rospotrebnadzor: no accident with pathogens at the institute and no work-related microorganisms in her samples.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "Lenta.ru",
     "url": "https://lenta.ru/news/2026/10/04/v-rospotrebnadzore-vyskazalis-o-situatsii-v-protivochumnom-institute-irkutska/"
    },
    {
     "t": "Tests on contacts find 2 COVID-19 and 2 rhinovirus cases, and no other pathogens.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "Lenta.ru",
     "url": "https://lenta.ru/news/2026/10/04/v-rospotrebnadzore-vyskazalis-o-situatsii-v-protivochumnom-institute-irkutska/"
    },
    {
     "t": "Institute staff confined since 2 Oct are released.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "Meduza",
     "url": "https://meduza.io/feature/2026/10/06/v-irkutskoy-oblasti-umerla-sotrudnitsa-protivochumnogo-instituta-vlasti-vveli-karantin-no-otritsayut-ugrozu-chumy"
    },
    {
     "t": "Hospital quarantines reportedly set for three weeks, and doctors “openly talk about plague”.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "The Insider; TV Rain, citing Lyudi Baikala",
     "url": "https://theins.ru/news/297886"
    },
    {
     "t": "Uzbekistan puts its sanitary services on higher readiness.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "Times of Central Asia",
     "url": "https://timesca.com/reports-of-suspected-plague-in-russia-prompt-central-asian-health-checks/"
    },
    {
     "t": "A local Telegram channel says reports of quarantines at Irkutsk hospitals No. 1, 3 and 10 and the Ivano-Matreninskaya children's hospital are fake.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "TK Gorod",
     "url": "https://tkgorod.ru/news/rospotrebnadzor-oproverg-zarazhenie-chumoi-pod-irkutskom-a-soobshcheniia-o-massovom-karantine-v-bolnitsakh-okazalis-feikom-54732/"
    },
    {
     "t": "Irkutsk Aluminium Plant director Artemiy Fominykh orders masks as a “preventive measure”.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "The Moscow Times (RU)",
     "url": "https://ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/04/virkutske-zakrili-neskolko-bolnits-nakarantin-ivveli-masochnii-rezhimnaalyuminievom-zavode-iz-za-chumi-a207714"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "d": "3",
   "m": "Oct",
   "dow": "Sat",
   "sum": "Restrictions spread to hospitals in Irkutsk.",
   "figs": [],
   "items": [
    {
     "t": "Visitor and exit limits at City Clinical Hospitals No. 1, 3 and 10, Ivano-Matreninskaya Children's Hospital, the Regional Clinical Hospital and the Perinatal Centre.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "Meduza",
     "url": "https://meduza.io/feature/2026/10/06/v-irkutskoy-oblasti-umerla-sotrudnitsa-protivochumnogo-instituta-vlasti-vveli-karantin-no-otritsayut-ugrozu-chumy"
    },
    {
     "t": "Masks reportedly required at the Irkutsk Aluminium Plant in Shelekhov.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "RFE/RL",
     "url": "https://www.rferl.org/amp/russia-plague-warning-siberia-irkutsk-laboratory/33870385.html"
    },
    {
     "t": "Several state-aligned outlets (Izvestia, AiF Kazan, MK Kuzbass) delete stories that mention plague.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "Meduza",
     "url": "https://meduza.io/feature/2026/10/06/v-irkutskoy-oblasti-umerla-sotrudnitsa-protivochumnogo-instituta-vlasti-vveli-karantin-no-otritsayut-ugrozu-chumy"
    },
    {
     "t": "Residents buy antibiotics; pharmacies in Irkutsk and Shelekhov run short.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "The Insider, citing Lyudi Baikala",
     "url": "https://theins.ru/news/297860"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "d": "2",
   "m": "Oct",
   "dow": "Fri",
   "sum": "The lab worker dies overnight. About 200 contacts are isolated and a criminal case is opened.",
   "figs": [
    [
     "Deaths",
     "1"
    ],
    [
     "Contacts identified",
     "197"
    ],
    [
     "Hospitalised",
     "189"
    ]
   ],
   "items": [
    {
     "t": "Darya Shipilova, 28, dies overnight at Shelekhov district hospital.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "The Moscow Times",
     "url": "https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/02/nearly-200-people-under-observation-after-irkutsk-lab-worker-dies-from-plague-a93857"
    },
    {
     "t": "Governor Kobzev cites a “particularly dangerous infection”. Rospotrebnadzor head Anna Popova flies in for an emergency commission.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "The Moscow Times",
     "url": "https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/02/nearly-200-people-under-observation-after-irkutsk-lab-worker-dies-from-plague-a93857"
    },
    {
     "t": "197 contacts identified and 189 hospitalised. All test negative so far.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "The Moscow Times",
     "url": "https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/02/nearly-200-people-under-observation-after-irkutsk-lab-worker-dies-from-plague-a93857"
    },
    {
     "t": "Contacts held in four places: 114 in Shelekhov hospital, 63 in a second hospital, 12 at the institute and 8 elsewhere.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "Novaya Gazeta",
     "url": "https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2026/10/02/v-irkutskoi-oblasti-ot-chumy-skonchalas-laborantka-protivochumnogo-instituta-ee-kontakty-pomestili-v-karantin-news"
    },
    {
     "t": "Shelekhov district hospital is quarantined. 60+ institute staff are confined on site.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "Meduza",
     "url": "https://meduza.io/feature/2026/10/06/v-irkutskoy-oblasti-umerla-sotrudnitsa-protivochumnogo-instituta-vlasti-vveli-karantin-no-otritsayut-ugrozu-chumy"
    },
    {
     "t": "Criminal case opened under Art. 236(2): sanitary-rules violation causing death.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "Meduza",
     "url": "https://meduza.io/feature/2026/10/06/v-irkutskoy-oblasti-umerla-sotrudnitsa-protivochumnogo-instituta-vlasti-vveli-karantin-no-otritsayut-ugrozu-chumy"
    },
    {
     "t": "Head of Buryatia Tsydenov posts that she died of plague, then edits it to “possibly”.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "The Moscow Times (RU)",
     "url": "https://ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/02/glava-buryatii-podtverdil-chto-zhenschina-v-irkutskoi-oblasti-pogibla-ot-chumi-a207667"
    },
    {
     "t": "Former chief sanitary doctor Gennady Onishchenko: “most likely not plague”, adding that she had been in Buryatia.",
     "s": [
      "reported"
     ],
     "src": "irk.today, citing TASS",
     "url": "https://irk.today/2026/10/02/onischenko-o-sluchae-zabolevaniya-v-irkutskoy-oblasti-eto-skoree-vsego-ne-chuma/"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "d": "29",
   "m": "Sep",
   "dow": "Tue",
   "sum": "Admitted to Shelekhov district hospital with severe pneumonia.",
   "figs": [],
   "items": [
    {
     "t": "Admitted with pneumonia symptoms and later put on a ventilator.",
     "s": [
      "confirmed"
     ],
     "src": "The Moscow Times",
     "url": "https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/02/nearly-200-people-under-observation-after-irkutsk-lab-worker-dies-from-plague-a93857"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "d": "~25",
   "m": "Sep",
   "dow": "Fri",
   "sum": "Reported lab exposure.",
   "figs": [],
   "items": [
    {
     "t": "Media report she broke a tube of live bacteria while collecting samples. Rospotrebnadzor says no accident occurred.",
     "s": [
      "reported",
      "denied"
     ],
     "src": "RFE/RL",
     "url": "https://www.rferl.org/amp/russia-plague-warning-siberia-irkutsk-laboratory/33870385.html"
    }
   ]
  }
 ],
 "cases": [
  {
   "m": "Confirmed plague cases",
   "v": "0 officially",
   "s": [
    "denied"
   ],
   "src": "Rospotrebnadzor, 4–6 Oct"
  },
  {
   "m": "Suspected plague cases",
   "v": "1, the deceased worker",
   "s": [
    "reported"
   ],
   "src": "Head of Buryatia wrote “plague”, then “possibly”. Medical sources quoted by media."
  },
  {
   "m": "Deaths",
   "v": "1, night of 1–2 Oct",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "src": "Official cause: pneumonia of undetermined etiology. Alleged: pneumonic plague."
  },
  {
   "m": "Second death",
   "v": "Reported, not confirmed",
   "s": [
    "reported"
   ],
   "src": "Daily Mail and Mirror (via UNITED24, Insider Paper), 6 Oct, citing unnamed local journalists. No official or named Russian source."
  },
  {
   "m": "Contacts identified",
   "v": "~197 (189 hospitalised)",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "src": "Governor Kobzev and Rospotrebnadzor, 2 Oct"
  },
  {
   "m": "Where contacts were held",
   "v": "114 · 63 · 12 · 8",
   "s": [
    "reported"
   ],
   "src": "Shelekhov hospital · second hospital · institute · elsewhere (Novaya Gazeta, 2 Oct)"
  },
  {
   "m": "Institute staff isolated",
   "v": "60+, released ~4 Oct",
   "s": [
    "reported"
   ],
   "src": "Meduza, Euronews, RFE/RL. Some reports say ~200."
  },
  {
   "m": "Under observation now",
   "v": "~40% of contacts",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "src": "60% released by 5 Oct. No headcount given."
  },
  {
   "m": "Secondary transmission",
   "v": "None",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "src": "WHO, 6 Oct: no contacts symptomatic"
  },
  {
   "m": "Lab confirmation of cause",
   "v": "Pending",
   "s": [
    "unknown"
   ],
   "src": "WHO, 6 Oct: testing underway"
  }
 ],
 "claims": [
  {
   "c": "She died of pneumonic plague",
   "off": "No. “Pneumonia of undetermined etiology”, and no work-related pathogens found.",
   "oth": "Head of Buryatia said plague, then “possibly”. Media cite medical staff. WHO: authorities are checking whether plague caused the death.",
   "s": [
    "reported",
    "denied"
   ]
  },
  {
   "c": "A lab accident exposed her (~25 Sep)",
   "off": "No. No accident with pathogens and no biosafety breach (institute commission, Rospotrebnadzor).",
   "oth": "Media report she told medics she broke a tube of live bacteria while collecting samples.",
   "s": [
    "reported",
    "denied"
   ]
  },
  {
   "c": "Contacts are infected",
   "off": "No dangerous pathogens. 2 COVID-19 and 2 rhinovirus cases.",
   "oth": "WHO: results shared with it show no dangerous pathogens, and no contact has symptoms.",
   "s": [
    "false"
   ]
  },
  {
   "c": "Neighbouring countries closed borders",
   "off": "n/a",
   "oth": "Health ministries in KZ, KG, TJ and UZ announced screening only. Some headlines said “closed”.",
   "s": [
    "false"
   ]
  },
  {
   "c": "Quarantines will last three weeks",
   "off": "Shelekhov closure “to the end of the week”. No official duration given for Irkutsk hospitals.",
   "oth": "Lyudi Baikala, via The Insider and TV Rain: 21 days, against a 6-day norm in Russian rules.",
   "s": [
    "reported"
   ]
  },
  {
   "c": "Doctors are treating it as plague",
   "off": "Official documents name no diagnosis beyond “particularly dangerous infection” (Governor, 2 Oct).",
   "oth": "Medical sources told Lyudi Baikala that doctors openly speak of plague.",
   "s": [
    "reported"
   ]
  },
  {
   "c": "Plague stories were removed",
   "off": "No comment.",
   "oth": "Meduza lists deletions by Izvestia, AiF Kazan and MK Kuzbass (2–3 Oct).",
   "s": [
    "reported"
   ]
  },
  {
   "c": "A second person has died",
   "off": "No acknowledgement. Governor Kobzev reportedly says no new cases have been found.",
   "oth": "UK tabloids, citing unnamed local journalists: a staff member or patient died in the Shelekhov isolation zone. No named Russian outlet has reported it.",
   "s": [
    "reported"
   ]
  },
  {
   "c": "Irkutsk hospitals were quarantined",
   "off": "Not confirmed. Rospotrebnadzor (6 Oct) says no “strict restrictions” were decided.",
   "oth": "Meduza, TV Rain, Lyudi Baikala and The Moscow Times report closures and visitor limits. Hospital No. 1 told Lapsha Media it works normally; a local Telegram channel calls the reports fake.",
   "s": [
    "reported"
   ]
  },
  {
   "c": "She had recently been in Buryatia",
   "off": "Head of Buryatia: the source was unrelated to Buryatia.",
   "oth": "Former chief sanitary doctor Gennady Onishchenko (TASS, 2 Oct) said she had been in Buryatia. Charter97 reported a work trip.",
   "s": [
    "reported"
   ]
  }
 ],
 "restrictions": [
  {
   "g": "Local",
   "m": "Shelekhov district hospital quarantine (all 114 patients kept in)",
   "s": [
    "active"
   ],
   "since": "2 Oct",
   "src": "Regional authorities; Current Time, Sibir.Realii"
  },
  {
   "g": "Local",
   "m": "Reported 21-day quarantine period for affected hospitals",
   "s": [
    "reported"
   ],
   "since": "~3 Oct",
   "src": "Lyudi Baikala via The Insider, TV Rain"
  },
  {
   "g": "Local",
   "m": "Visitor and exit limits at seven Irkutsk medical facilities",
   "s": [
    "unknown",
    "reported"
   ],
   "since": "3 Oct",
   "src": "Meduza, TV Rain, The Moscow Times. Disputed: Hospital No. 1 says it works normally (via Lapsha Media, 5 Oct); a local Telegram channel calls the reports fake. No official confirmation."
  },
  {
   "g": "Local",
   "m": "Anti-Plague Institute staff confined on site",
   "s": [
    "lifted"
   ],
   "since": "2 Oct",
   "src": "Meduza, Euronews"
  },
  {
   "g": "Local",
   "m": "Masks at the Irkutsk Aluminium Plant; some Irkutsk events cancelled",
   "s": [
    "unknown",
    "reported"
   ],
   "since": "~3 Oct",
   "src": "Masks ordered by plant director Artemiy Fominykh (The Moscow Times, 4 Oct). Events: secondary reports"
  },
  {
   "g": "Local",
   "m": "City-wide lockdown in Irkutsk or Shelekhov",
   "s": [
    "none"
   ],
   "since": "—",
   "src": "None announced"
  },
  {
   "g": "Regional",
   "m": "Emergency Sanitary Anti-Epidemic Commission (Kobzev, Popova)",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "since": "2 Oct",
   "src": "Irkutsk Governor"
  },
  {
   "g": "Regional",
   "m": "Regional lockdown",
   "s": [
    "none"
   ],
   "since": "—",
   "src": "None announced"
  },
  {
   "g": "Regional",
   "m": "“Strict” new sanitary restrictions",
   "s": [
    "none"
   ],
   "since": "—",
   "src": "Rospotrebnadzor (6 Oct): a document claiming them is not official"
  },
  {
   "g": "National",
   "m": "National measures",
   "s": [
    "none"
   ],
   "since": "—",
   "src": "Kremlin refers to Rospotrebnadzor statements"
  },
  {
   "g": "National",
   "m": "Criminal case, Art. 236(2): sanitary-rules violation causing death",
   "s": [
    "active"
   ],
   "since": "2 Oct",
   "src": "Investigators, via media"
  },
  {
   "g": "International",
   "m": "Border health checks: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan",
   "s": [
    "active"
   ],
   "since": "4–5 Oct",
   "src": "National health ministries"
  },
  {
   "g": "International",
   "m": "Mongolia border regions on alert",
   "s": [
    "reported"
   ],
   "since": "~5 Oct",
   "src": "Secondary reports"
  },
  {
   "g": "International",
   "m": "EU measures (Health Security Committee discusses the case on 7 Oct)",
   "s": [
    "none"
   ],
   "since": "—",
   "src": "European Commission via Euronews, 6 Oct"
  },
  {
   "g": "International",
   "m": "Border closures or travel bans",
   "s": [
    "none"
   ],
   "since": "—",
   "src": "None announced"
  }
 ],
 "countries": [
  {
   "id": "643",
   "name": "Russia",
   "cat": "cases",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "line": "1 death, ~197 contacts, hospital quarantines, criminal case.",
   "detail": "Plague and a lab accident are denied by Rospotrebnadzor."
  },
  {
   "id": "398",
   "name": "Kazakhstan",
   "cat": "border",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "line": "Sanitary-quarantine checks at border crossings.",
   "detail": "Health Ministry, 5 Oct. No closure."
  },
  {
   "id": "417",
   "name": "Kyrgyzstan",
   "cat": "border",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "line": "People, vehicles and cargo checked at the border.",
   "detail": "Health Ministry, ~5 Oct. No closure."
  },
  {
   "id": "762",
   "name": "Tajikistan",
   "cat": "border",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "line": "Temperature and symptom screening at the border.",
   "detail": "Sanitary-Epidemiological Safety Dept., ~5 Oct. No closure."
  },
  {
   "id": "860",
   "name": "Uzbekistan",
   "cat": "border",
   "s": [
    "confirmed"
   ],
   "line": "Sanitary services put on higher readiness.",
   "detail": "Sanitary-Epidemiological Welfare Committee, ~4 Oct. No closure."
  },
  {
   "id": "496",
   "name": "Mongolia",
   "cat": "alert",
   "s": [
    "reported"
   ],
   "line": "Asked Russia for an official explanation (5 Oct). Border regions reportedly on “high alert”.",
   "detail": "The National Center for Zoonotic Diseases was told plague “has not been confirmed”. Reported by secondary outlets only."
  },
  {
   "id": "156",
   "name": "China",
   "cat": "none",
   "s": [
    "none"
   ],
   "line": "No measures announced.",
   "detail": "No border or travel restrictions reported."
  },
  {
   "id": "795",
   "name": "Turkmenistan",
   "cat": "none",
   "s": [
    "none"
   ],
   "line": "No measures announced.",
   "detail": ""
  }
 ],
 "faq": [
  {
   "question": "Is there a plague outbreak in Irkutsk?",
   "answer": "No plague case has been officially confirmed. A laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute died on 2 October 2026 after severe pneumonia. Rospotrebnadzor gives the cause as “pneumonia of undetermined etiology” and denies plague. WHO says laboratory testing is underway."
  },
  {
   "question": "Was there a lab leak at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute?",
   "answer": "It is unconfirmed. Media reported that the worker broke a tube of live bacteria while collecting samples around 25 September. Rospotrebnadzor and the institute's commission say no accident and no biosafety breach took place."
  },
  {
   "question": "How many people are in quarantine?",
   "answer": "About 197 contacts were identified on 2 October and 189 of them were hospitalised. By 5 October, 60% had completed observation. No current headcount has been published. Reports of quarantines at Irkutsk city hospitals are disputed."
  },
  {
   "question": "Has anyone else fallen ill?",
   "answer": "No secondary cases have been reported. Tests on contacts found 2 COVID-19 and 2 rhinovirus cases and no dangerous pathogens. WHO says none of the contacts have symptoms."
  },
  {
   "question": "Has a second person died?",
   "answer": "One death is confirmed. On 6 October, UK tabloids reported a second death in the Shelekhov hospital isolation zone, citing unnamed local journalists. No official source or named Russian outlet has confirmed it, so we list it as reported, not confirmed."
  },
  {
   "question": "What does WHO say about the risk?",
   "answer": "WHO's initial risk assessment of 6 October rates the risk as moderate to low for Irkutsk Oblast, low for Russia as a whole and very low for the WHO European Region. WHO has invoked the International Health Regulations to verify the event."
  },
  {
   "question": "Is Europe at risk?",
   "answer": "The risk is very low. WHO rates it very low for the WHO European Region, and ECDC reports no secondary cases and no sustained human-to-human transmission. Plague is treatable with antibiotics available in the EU. The EU's Health Security Committee discusses the case in Brussels on 7 October."
  },
  {
   "question": "Have any countries closed their borders?",
   "answer": "No. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have tightened health checks at their borders. Mongolia reportedly asked Russia for an official explanation. No country has closed its border or banned travel."
  },
  {
   "question": "Is it safe to travel to Irkutsk?",
   "answer": "This tracker does not give travel or medical advice. Check your government's travel advice and WHO guidance before you travel."
  }
 ],
 "news": [
  {
   "d": "6 Oct",
   "outlet": "ECDC",
   "title": "EU disease agency sees no sustained human-to-human transmission",
   "sum": "No secondary cases; plague is treatable with antibiotics readily available in the EU, where there has been no case for decades.",
   "type": "official",
   "lang": "EN",
   "url": "https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/ecdc-closely-monitoring-situation-following-case-pneumonia-unknown-origin-russia"
  },
  {
   "d": "6 Oct",
   "outlet": "UN News (WHO)",
   "title": "WHO invokes the International Health Regulations to verify the event",
   "sum": "WHO contacted Russia on 3 Oct; the illness first looked like a typical respiratory infection; risk moderate to low for Irkutsk.",
   "type": "official",
   "lang": "EN",
   "url": "https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/10/1168533"
  },
  {
   "d": "6 Oct",
   "outlet": "Euronews",
   "title": "EU countries to discuss the case at the Health Security Committee",
   "sum": "A Commission spokesperson confirms the incident is on the committee's agenda for 7 Oct in Brussels.",
   "type": "international",
   "lang": "EN",
   "url": "https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/06/eu-countries-to-discuss-suspected-plague-outbreak-in-russia"
  },
  {
   "d": "6 Oct",
   "outlet": "Euronews",
   "title": "What is the risk to Europe?",
   "sum": "Little travel between Irkutsk and the EU and poor human-to-human spread keep the risk to Europe minimal.",
   "type": "international",
   "lang": "EN",
   "url": "https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/06/pneumonic-plague-suspected-in-russia-what-we-know-and-what-is-the-risk-to-europe"
  },
  {
   "d": "6 Oct",
   "outlet": "CNN",
   "title": "Checklists, masks and mystery",
   "sum": "Hospitals use plague-symptom questionnaires. Rubio: it is “incumbent upon Russia” to share more information.",
   "type": "international",
   "lang": "EN",
   "url": "https://abc17news.com/news/national-world/cnn-world/2026/10/06/checklists-masks-and-mystery-what-we-know-about-the-plague-scare-in-russia/"
  },
  {
   "d": "6 Oct",
   "outlet": "Important Stories (iStories)",
   "title": "“First plague death in Russia in half a century”",
   "sum": "If confirmed, the first plague death in Russia since 1979. Cites local blogger Pavel Stepanov and Lyudi Baikala; officials still say pneumonia.",
   "type": "independent",
   "lang": "RU",
   "url": "https://istories.media/news/2026/10/06/v-rossii-vpervie-za-polveka-chelovek-umer-ot-chumi-i-sluchilos-eto-s-sotrudnikom-profilnogo-nii/"
  },
  {
   "d": "6 Oct",
   "outlet": "NBC News",
   "title": "Russia says no plague found in contacts",
   "sum": "60% of contacts tested; 2 COVID-19 and 2 rhinovirus cases. CDC sees no broader threat to the US.",
   "type": "international",
   "lang": "EN",
   "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/world/russia/russia-says-no-plague-found-contacts-siberian-lab-worker-died-rcna601805"
  },
  {
   "d": "6 Oct",
   "outlet": "Meduza / Lyudi Baikala",
   "title": "Reportage: quarantine, but plague denied",
   "sum": "Residents, colleagues and the victim's mother describe the days after the death; state outlets deleted plague stories.",
   "type": "independent",
   "lang": "RU",
   "url": "https://meduza.io/feature/2026/10/06/v-irkutskoy-oblasti-umerla-sotrudnitsa-protivochumnogo-instituta-vlasti-vveli-karantin-no-otritsayut-ugrozu-chumy"
  },
  {
   "d": "6 Oct",
   "outlet": "AiF Irkutsk",
   "title": "Rospotrebnadzor: “strict restrictions” document is not official",
   "sum": "The regional office says no such decisions were made and calls the situation calm.",
   "type": "official",
   "lang": "RU",
   "url": "https://irk.aif.ru/society/rospotrebnadzor-oproverg-sluhi-ob-ogranicheniyah-v-irkutskoy-oblasti"
  },
  {
   "d": "6 Oct",
   "outlet": "UNITED24 Media",
   "title": "Second death reported, unconfirmed",
   "sum": "Repeats UK tabloid reports of a second death; no official or named Russian source.",
   "type": "international",
   "lang": "EN",
   "url": "https://united24media.com/world/russian-media-report-second-death-amid-suspected-plague-outbreak-in-siberia-23177"
  },
  {
   "d": "6 Oct",
   "outlet": "Gavi / The Conversation",
   "title": "A microbiologist explains the case",
   "sum": "Thomas Jeffries (Western Sydney University): pneumonic plague spreads person to person but a 10–14-day antibiotic course treats it if started early.",
   "type": "analysis",
   "lang": "EN",
   "url": "https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/death-russian-plague-researcher-explained-microbiologist"
  },
  {
   "d": "5 Oct",
   "outlet": "Time",
   "title": "What to know about Russia's “plague”",
   "sum": "Jennifer Nuzzo (Brown University Pandemic Center) questions the biosafety response but says it “doesn't strike me as a plague outbreak”.",
   "type": "analysis",
   "lang": "EN",
   "url": "https://time.com/article/2026/10/05/russia-plague-fears-siberia-quarantine-lab-worker-died/"
  },
  {
   "d": "5 Oct",
   "outlet": "Northeastern University",
   "title": "Expert: wider public health risk remains low",
   "sum": "Samuel Scarpino cites plague's short incubation period and treatability; likely lab exposure, not community spread.",
   "type": "analysis",
   "lang": "EN",
   "url": "https://news.northeastern.edu/2026/10/05/outbreak-plague-russia-analysis/"
  },
  {
   "d": "5 Oct",
   "outlet": "Meduza",
   "title": "Explainer: how dangerous is plague?",
   "sum": "Spreads inefficiently between people, only through prolonged close contact; antibiotics work if started within about two days.",
   "type": "independent",
   "lang": "RU",
   "url": "https://meduza.io/feature/2026/10/05/chuma-legko-peredaetsya-ot-cheloveka-k-cheloveku-net-ona-ochen-opasna-da-mozhet-li-proizoyti-ocherednaya-pandemiya-net"
  },
  {
   "d": "5 Oct",
   "outlet": "Lapsha Media",
   "title": "Fact-check: Irkutsk hospital quarantine reports “fake”",
   "sum": "Says Hospital No. 1 confirmed it works normally and the children's hospital is open. Ownership of the site is not stated.",
   "type": "russian",
   "lang": "RU",
   "url": "https://lapsha.media/feiky/irkutsk-bolnicy-chuma/"
  },
  {
   "d": "5 Oct",
   "outlet": "ABC News",
   "title": "Trump: “we're always willing to help”",
   "sum": "The State Department urges Russia to “share accurate information quickly and openly”.",
   "type": "international",
   "lang": "EN",
   "url": "https://abcnews.com/US/state-department-monitoring-reported-fatal-case-pneumonic-plague/story?id=136992734"
  },
  {
   "d": "5 Oct",
   "outlet": "Newsweek",
   "title": "Russia's response under scrutiny",
   "sum": "Contrasts official denials with unofficial reports, and WHO's statement that no cause of death is confirmed.",
   "type": "international",
   "lang": "EN",
   "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/russias-response-to-suspected-plague-outbreak-under-scrutiny-12523852"
  },
  {
   "d": "5 Oct",
   "outlet": "Interfax",
   "title": "60% of contacts complete observation",
   "sum": "Rospotrebnadzor calls the situation calm; no other pathogens found among contacts.",
   "type": "official",
   "lang": "RU",
   "url": "https://www.interfax.ru/russia/1120505"
  },
  {
   "d": "5 Oct",
   "outlet": "Sibir.Realii (RFE/RL)",
   "title": "Authorities deny danger but lock hospitals",
   "sum": "Plague denied while 60+ institute staff were isolated and 114 patients kept inside one hospital.",
   "type": "independent",
   "lang": "RU",
   "url": "https://www.svoboda.org/a/vlasti-otritsayut-opasnostj-no-zapirayut-boljnitsy-smertj-sotrudnitsy-protivochumnogo-instituta/33870125.html"
  },
  {
   "d": "4 Oct",
   "outlet": "The Moscow Times (RU)",
   "title": "Hospitals closed, masks at the aluminium plant",
   "sum": "Plant director Artemiy Fominykh ordered masks at the Irkutsk Aluminium Plant as a “preventive measure”.",
   "type": "independent",
   "lang": "RU",
   "url": "https://ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/04/virkutske-zakrili-neskolko-bolnits-nakarantin-ivveli-masochnii-rezhimnaalyuminievom-zavode-iz-za-chumi-a207714"
  },
  {
   "d": "4 Oct",
   "outlet": "The Insider",
   "title": "Quarantine of three weeks, against a 6-day norm",
   "sum": "Citing Lyudi Baikala, hospitals were quarantined for 21 days and doctors speak of plague.",
   "type": "independent",
   "lang": "RU",
   "url": "https://theins.ru/news/297886"
  },
  {
   "d": "4 Oct",
   "outlet": "Lenta.ru",
   "title": "Rospotrebnadzor: no accident at the institute",
   "sum": "Official statement: pneumonia of undetermined etiology; no work-related microorganisms found.",
   "type": "official",
   "lang": "RU",
   "url": "https://lenta.ru/news/2026/10/04/v-rospotrebnadzore-vyskazalis-o-situatsii-v-protivochumnom-institute-irkutska/"
  },
  {
   "d": "4 Oct",
   "outlet": "CNN",
   "title": "Dozens quarantined after researcher dies",
   "sum": "First major international report on the quarantine and the unknown infection.",
   "type": "international",
   "lang": "EN",
   "url": "https://edition.cnn.com/2026/10/04/europe/russia-laboratory-plague-accident-intl"
  },
  {
   "d": "3 Oct",
   "outlet": "The Insider",
   "title": "Officials post, then delete, a Shelekhov travel warning",
   "sum": "Baikalsk authorities told residents to limit trips to Shelekhov, deleted it within two hours; pharmacies ran short of antibiotics.",
   "type": "independent",
   "lang": "RU",
   "url": "https://theins.ru/news/297860"
  },
  {
   "d": "2 Oct",
   "outlet": "The Moscow Times",
   "title": "Nearly 200 under observation",
   "sum": "Governor Kobzev: contacts show no signs of illness and test negative.",
   "type": "independent",
   "lang": "EN",
   "url": "https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/02/nearly-200-people-under-observation-after-irkutsk-lab-worker-dies-from-plague-a93857"
  },
  {
   "d": "2 Oct",
   "outlet": "Novaya Gazeta",
   "title": "Lab worker dies; contacts quarantined",
   "sum": "Breakdown of where the 197 contacts were held: 114, 63, 12 and 8.",
   "type": "independent",
   "lang": "RU",
   "url": "https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2026/10/02/v-irkutskoi-oblasti-ot-chumy-skonchalas-laborantka-protivochumnogo-instituta-ee-kontakty-pomestili-v-karantin-news"
  }
 ],
 "sources": {
  "official": [
   {
    "name": "ECDC (EU disease agency)",
    "said": "No secondary cases; no sustained human-to-human transmission",
    "d": "6 Oct",
    "url": "https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/ecdc-closely-monitoring-situation-following-case-pneumonia-unknown-origin-russia"
   },
   {
    "name": "European Commission via Euronews",
    "said": "Case on EU Health Security Committee agenda, 7 Oct",
    "d": "6 Oct",
    "url": "https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/06/eu-countries-to-discuss-suspected-plague-outbreak-in-russia"
   },
   {
    "name": "WHO via UN News",
    "said": "Invoked International Health Regulations; contacted Russia on 3 Oct",
    "d": "6 Oct",
    "url": "https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/10/1168533"
   },
   {
    "name": "Rospotrebnadzor Irkutsk via AiF Irkutsk",
    "said": "“Strict restrictions” document is not official",
    "d": "6 Oct",
    "url": "https://irk.aif.ru/society/rospotrebnadzor-oproverg-sluhi-ob-ogranicheniyah-v-irkutskoy-oblasti"
   },
   {
    "name": "US CDC via NBC News",
    "said": "No indication of a broader threat to the US",
    "d": "6 Oct",
    "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/world/russia/russia-says-no-plague-found-contacts-siberian-lab-worker-died-rcna601805"
   },
   {
    "name": "WHO via UN Geneva",
    "said": "Risk moderate to low (Irkutsk), low (Russia), very low (Europe)",
    "d": "6 Oct",
    "url": "https://www.unognewsroom.org/story/en/3289/irkutsk-suspected-plague-death-who"
   },
   {
    "name": "Rospotrebnadzor via Interfax",
    "said": "Situation calm; 60% of contacts released",
    "d": "5 Oct",
    "url": "https://www.interfax.ru/russia/1120505"
   },
   {
    "name": "Rospotrebnadzor via Vedomosti",
    "said": "Undetermined pneumonia; no work-related pathogens",
    "d": "6 Oct",
    "url": "https://www.vedomosti.ru/society/news/2026/10/06/1234463-rospotrebnadzor-nazval"
   },
   {
    "name": "Rospotrebnadzor via Lenta.ru",
    "said": "No accident with pathogenic microorganisms",
    "d": "4 Oct",
    "url": "https://lenta.ru/news/2026/10/04/v-rospotrebnadzore-vyskazalis-o-situatsii-v-protivochumnom-institute-irkutska/"
   },
   {
    "name": "Governor Kobzev via The Moscow Times",
    "said": "“Particularly dangerous infection”; contacts test negative",
    "d": "2 Oct",
    "url": "https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/02/nearly-200-people-under-observation-after-irkutsk-lab-worker-dies-from-plague-a93857"
   },
   {
    "name": "Head of Buryatia via The Moscow Times (RU)",
    "said": "“Plague”, edited to “possibly”",
    "d": "2 Oct",
    "url": "https://ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/02/glava-buryatii-podtverdil-chto-zhenschina-v-irkutskoi-oblasti-pogibla-ot-chumi-a207667"
   },
   {
    "name": "US State Dept via Al Jazeera",
    "said": "Monitoring with CDC",
    "d": "5 Oct",
    "url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/5/russian-lab-worker-dies-of-suspected-plague-in-siberia-us-monitoring-case"
   },
   {
    "name": "Central Asian ministries via Times of Central Asia",
    "said": "Border sanitary controls",
    "d": "4–5 Oct",
    "url": "https://timesca.com/reports-of-suspected-plague-in-russia-prompt-central-asian-health-checks/"
   },
   {
    "name": "Tajikistan via Asia-Plus",
    "said": "Temperature and symptom checks",
    "d": "5 Oct",
    "url": "https://asiaplus.news/en/2026/10/05/media-report-plague-cases-in-russia-tajikistan-tightens-border-sanitary-controls/"
   }
  ],
  "independent": [
   {
    "name": "Lyudi Baikala (via Echo)",
    "said": "Reportage from Irkutsk and Shelekhov",
    "d": "6 Oct",
    "url": "https://echofm.online/statya-dnya/lyudi-bajkala-chto-pravda-chuma-chto-proishodit-v-irkutske-i-shelehove-gde-umerla-sotrudnicza-protivochumnogo-instituta-a-vlasti-otriczayut-chumu-kak-vozmozhnyj-diagnoz"
   },
   {
    "name": "Meduza (RU)",
    "said": "Reportage; deleted state-media stories",
    "d": "6 Oct",
    "url": "https://meduza.io/feature/2026/10/06/v-irkutskoy-oblasti-umerla-sotrudnitsa-protivochumnogo-instituta-vlasti-vveli-karantin-no-otritsayut-ugrozu-chumy"
   },
   {
    "name": "Sibir.Realii / RFE/RL (RU)",
    "said": "Denials vs. plague-style response",
    "d": "5 Oct",
    "url": "https://www.svoboda.org/a/vlasti-otritsayut-opasnostj-no-zapirayut-boljnitsy-smertj-sotrudnitsy-protivochumnogo-instituta/33870125.html"
   },
   {
    "name": "Current Time (RU)",
    "said": "114 patients kept in Shelekhov hospital",
    "d": "5 Oct",
    "url": "https://www.currenttime.tv/a/pnevmoniya-neustanovlennoy-etiologii-vlasti-irkutskoy-oblasti-otritsayut-sluhi-o-chume-no-vveli-karantin-v-chasti-bolnits/33870500.html"
   },
   {
    "name": "The Insider (RU)",
    "said": "21-day quarantine vs. 6-day norm",
    "d": "4 Oct",
    "url": "https://theins.ru/news/297886"
   },
   {
    "name": "TV Rain (RU)",
    "said": "Doctors “openly talk about plague”",
    "d": "4 Oct",
    "url": "https://tvrain.tv/news/v-irkutske-neskolko-bolnits-zakryli-na-trehnedelnyj-karantin-vrachi-otkryto-govorjat-o-chume-576791"
   },
   {
    "name": "Novaya Gazeta (RU)",
    "said": "Contacts: 114 · 63 · 12 · 8",
    "d": "2 Oct",
    "url": "https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2026/10/02/v-irkutskoi-oblasti-ot-chumy-skonchalas-laborantka-protivochumnogo-instituta-ee-kontakty-pomestili-v-karantin-news"
   }
  ],
  "media": [
   {
    "name": "UNITED24 Media: second death reported",
    "d": "6 Oct",
    "url": "https://united24media.com/world/russian-media-report-second-death-amid-suspected-plague-outbreak-in-siberia-23177"
   },
   {
    "name": "Insider Paper: second death report",
    "d": "6 Oct",
    "url": "https://insiderpaper.com/second-person-death-russia-plague/"
   },
   {
    "name": "NBC News: no plague found in contacts",
    "d": "6 Oct",
    "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/world/russia/russia-says-no-plague-found-contacts-siberian-lab-worker-died-rcna601805"
   },
   {
    "name": "TK Gorod (Irkutsk): hospital quarantine reports “fake”",
    "d": "4 Oct",
    "url": "https://tkgorod.ru/news/rospotrebnadzor-oproverg-zarazhenie-chumoi-pod-irkutskom-a-soobshcheniia-o-massovom-karantine-v-bolnitsakh-okazalis-feikom-54732/"
   },
   {
    "name": "irk.today: Onishchenko, “most likely not plague”",
    "d": "2 Oct",
    "url": "https://irk.today/2026/10/02/onischenko-o-sluchae-zabolevaniya-v-irkutskoy-oblasti-eto-skoree-vsego-ne-chuma/"
   },
   {
    "name": "Ukrmedia: Central Asia and Mongolia responses",
    "d": "6 Oct",
    "url": "https://ukrmedia.news/en/world/central-asia-border-control-irkutsk/"
   },
   {
    "name": "Euronews: Russia denies plague death",
    "d": "6 Oct",
    "url": "https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/06/russia-denies-plague-death-but-quarantines-hundreds-without-explanation"
   },
   {
    "name": "CNBC: experts puzzled",
    "d": "6 Oct",
    "url": "https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/06/plague-russia-person-died-lab-infection-pneumonic.html"
   },
   {
    "name": "The Moscow Times: officials reassure",
    "d": "5 Oct",
    "url": "https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/10/05/officials-seek-to-reassure-public-after-irkutsk-anti-plague-institute-workers-death-a93872"
   },
   {
    "name": "RFE/RL: US monitors suspected case",
    "d": "5 Oct",
    "url": "https://www.rferl.org/amp/russia-plague-warning-siberia-irkutsk-laboratory/33870385.html"
   },
   {
    "name": "CNN: dozens quarantined",
    "d": "4 Oct",
    "url": "https://edition.cnn.com/2026/10/04/europe/russia-laboratory-plague-accident-intl"
   },
   {
    "name": "Times of Central Asia: regional health checks",
    "d": "5 Oct",
    "url": "https://timesca.com/reports-of-suspected-plague-in-russia-prompt-central-asian-health-checks/"
   },
   {
    "name": "Al Jazeera: US monitoring",
    "d": "5 Oct",
    "url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/5/russian-lab-worker-dies-of-suspected-plague-in-siberia-us-monitoring-case"
   }
  ]
 }
}