Dozens of people were reportedly placed under observation after a laboratory worker at a Russian institute dedicated to studying plague and other infectious diseases died of severe pneumonia.
The case quickly became the subject of intense speculation on social media. Posts have ranged from expressions of fear and comparisons with the COVID-19 pandemic to claims about the laboratory incident that have not been substantiated.
DW Fact Check has examined several of the claims circulating online.
Alleged plague lab accident in Irkutsk remains unproven
Claim: “For those who don’t get it: in Irkutsk, a lab technician broke a flask containing the plague virus and became infected with the disease, dying a few days later,” a user posted on X in Russian. “This happened on September 25, and by October 2, she was already dead. In the meantime, she had infected several hundred people.” The post, which included a photo of the alleged laboratory worker, garnered over 320,000 views.
DW Fact check: Unproven
There is no independent evidence confirming that a leak of the plague pathogen occurred at the Irkutsk Antiplague Research Institute of Siberia and Far East.
On the contrary, Russia‘s public health authority, Rospotrebnadzor, said that two commissions investigating biosafety procedures at the institute found “no evidence of an accident involving pathogenic microorganisms.” The Russian news agency TASS, citing Rospotrebnadzor, also reported that tests on the deceased employee detected no microorganisms linked to her professional activity.
Some social media users have tried to debunk the claim about a broken test tube, pointing to safety standards in high-containment laboratories, where the use of glassware may be restricted or completely banned to reduce the risk of accidents.
The Irkutsk institute does work with highly pathogenic microorganisms, including strains classified in Russia’s highest pathogenicity groups, such as Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague.
However, DW could not independently verify the formally designated biosafety level of the institute’s laboratories. Biosafety level, or BSL, is an international classification describing the containment measures required when handling dangerous pathogens, with BSL-4 reserved for the most hazardous agents.
DW asked the Irkutsk Antiplague Research Institute to comment on the alleged incident and its laboratory safety procedures but had received no response by the time of publication.
WHO website update unrelated to the Russian case
Claim: “The WHO appears to have updated its fact sheet on plague the same day the Irkutsk lab worker presented at hospital, with (probably) the plague.” This claim appeared in a number of posts on X, each reaching thousands of users.
DW Fact check: Misleading
The World Health Organization (WHO) updated its plague fact sheet on the same day the Russian laboratory worker was hospitalized, but no evidence links the two events.
According to media reports, the laboratory worker may have been exposed to Yersinia pestis around September 25. Four days later, on September 29, she was hospitalized in Shelekhov with severe respiratory symptoms.
The WHO updated its plague fact sheet on September 29, the same day it published a news release on global trends in cholera, meningitis and plague. The update was part of a broader WHO publication cycle on infectious disease.
The release reported global surveillance data covering 2019 to 2025 and said the findings were published in the latest edition of the Weekly Epidemiological Record, which was released on September 25.
The timing therefore appears coincidental. The previous version of the WHO’s plague fact sheet, accessible as an archived page, was dated July 7, 2022.
The social media account sharing the claim also changed its name in October to one that suggests it is reporting live from Irkutsk. Its profile describes itself as providing “sourced updates on the Irkutsk lab leak” and “latest news as it breaks live.” However, the account’s profile indicates that it was created in May and is based in Australia.
Such accounts can emerge quickly during breaking news events, presenting themselves as local or specialist sources while sharing unverified information.
Old video falsely linked to current plague claims in Russia
Claim: As news of the plague spreads, some old videos are being repurposed, adding to the disinformation. In one such video posted on X, a user claimed that the plague has also spread to other parts of Russia. The caption in Russian reads, “The plague marches across Russia. God has heard our prayers!”
DW Fact check: Misleading
The video is old and unrelated to the current developments in Irkutsk. A reverse image search reveals that the video was initially posted on August 31 this year, claiming that it showed the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, a tourist destination around 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miiles)from Irkutsk.
The old video has been viewed more than 1.7 million times on Instagram. The same video was also posted on Telegram. The Russian news agency TASS reported on August 31 that the plague pathogen had been detected in local squirrels and that the area had been closed to tourists.
In the video, a person can be heard saying, “It’s at the turnoff from the paved road toward Serebryany Istochnik” in Russian. Serebryany Istochnik, or Silver Spring, is a spring located in the Dzhily-Su area in Kabardino-Balkaria.
The situation in the Irkutsk region is still being investigated, but there are no confirmed reports of a plague outbreak in Russia. Health authorities have introduced precautionary measures following the death of the laboratory worker, while tests are reportedly being carried out.
Edited by: Joscha Weber
