Get you up to speed: Project linked to ‘Russian plague’ lab ‘received $800k from RFK Jr department’ | News World
Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old lab worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia, died on October 2 after becoming ill with suspected pneumonic plague. Approximately 200 individuals who had contact with her are under medical observation, with no signs of illness reported.
The investigation into Darya Shipilova’s death is ongoing, with nearly 200 people who had contact with her placed under medical observation, though none have displayed signs of illness. The National Institutes of Health granted $800,000 to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for a project that, while linked to the Russian Institute of Cytology and Genetics, focused on the social behaviour of foxes rather than the plague itself.
The Kremlin has dismissed allegations regarding the plague outbreak as “false information,” asserting that testing revealed no pathogens in Darya Shipilova’s body linked to her work. In response to the situation, nearly 200 individuals who had contact with Shipilova are under medical observation, although none have exhibited signs of illness.
What remains unclear — The exact circumstances of Darya Shipilova’s exposure to the pathogen remain under investigation.
Grant linked to Russian plague lab receives $800,000 from Kennedy’s department
Washington, D.C., U.S., January 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo” decoding=”sync”/>
The grant was issued to a US university working with an organisation linked to the lab (Picture: Reuters)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. allegedly sent almost $1,000,000 of taxpayer money to a research project linked to the Siberian Plague Lab.
The National Institutes of Health, which Kennedy oversees, granted $800,000 to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2025 and 2026.
The university was conducting a partnership with Russia’s Institute of Cytology and Genetics, which has also worked with the Siberian facility where a lab worker died of the plague.
The funding has come into question after it was revealed by White Coat Waste.
The project itself was not linked to the plague; rather, social behaviour of foxes which had been raised in a Siberian facility.
The outbreak happened at the Irkutsk Antiplague Research Institute (Picture: AFP)
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On October 2, lab worker Darya Shipilova died after becoming ill with suspected pneumonic plague.
She had been employed at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia, which has since come under fire for the alleged leak of the disease.
The 28-year-old scientist was taken to the hospital in Shelekhov, where she passed away.
Russia’s health watchdog has insisted that testing of her body discovered no ‘micro-organisms’ in her that were linked to her work, while the Kremlin dismissed allegations about the disease or anti-plague measures.
In since deleted posts, local officials claimed the scientist died of a plague infection.
Daria Shipilova died after being ‘exposed’ to the pathogen (Picture: e2w)
But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov labelled the reports as ‘false information.’
Independent news outlet People of Baikal reported that Shipilova broke a test tube, though inspections found none of the pathogens clinicians are working with in her body.
Telegram outlet Baza said Shipilova fell ill returning from Buryatia, where an outbreak erupted among squirrels, but local officials deny this.
What we know for sure is that parts of Shelekhov Hospital, where Shipilova was treated for two days, were quarantined.
Nearly 200 people who came into contact with Shipilova have been placed under medical observation, according to Russia’s REN TV. None have shown signs of illness.
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