The broken test-tube infection allegation is not supported by documents

Journalist Pavel Stepanov and Mash, a Russian Telegram channel, circulated an account of a broken test tube containing the plague pathogen. People of Baikal repeated it, identifying the deceased employee as Darya Shipilova.

The account is associated with September 25. However, the identity and knowledge of the original informant have not been established; this investigation has not obtained an accident report or laboratory incident log.

On October 4, Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, stated that two commissions had found no accidents. A report dated October 7 likewise did not confirm a laboratory incident. The inspection reports themselves have not been published in the available source material.

There is therefore a documented history of the allegation’s circulation and its official denial. Neither the number of republications nor the absence of a public report establishes the source of infection.