"Pneumonia of Unknown Origin": What Doesn't Add Up in the Irkutsk Case?
In late September, Daria Shipilova, an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, was hospitalized at the Shelekhov District Hospital and passed away on the night of October 2. Several media outlets and Telegram channels subsequently reported that the cause of death could have been pneumonic plague. However, Russian authorities did not confirm this version, stating the cause of death as "pneumonia of unexplained etiology." As a result, the case attracted attention not only in Russia but also abroad, drawing responses from international organizations and individual nations alike.
