re: Plague watch 2026: Russian officials change the official story again

Because they boarded flights to other countries already I’m sure

quote:

---

Russian media claims a second victim has died from 'plague outbreak'

---

So now someone else has broken a glass vial of the bacteria?

Russians are clumsy

This is what Steve Rosenberg says about what is in the Russian papers today. For those that don't know who he is, he is the BBC's reporter living in Russia. He has lived in Moscow for 35 years. He gets all the Russian newspapers every morning (Russian are much bigger readers than Americans) from a little newsstand near his apartment. He often makes YT videos going over what the trending topics are or aren't. If you want to keep up with what Russia says about itself, this is a good source. Little if any spin.

Yes please- summarize! And thank you!

This is an AI summary:

quote:

---

The video reviews Russian media coverage surrounding the death of a plague research institute lab worker in the Irkutsk region, noting a striking absence of the story in major national and local outlets despite international attention (0:06). While the official cause of death was attributed to pneumonia of unknown etiology, domestic media focused on alternative headlines and deflection tactics rather than the incident itself (0:13). You can watch the full video on YouTube.

---

quote:

---

which they made it more contagious than it was naturally

---

We know this?

quote:

---

The lab where patient zero worked was part of the USSR’s biological weapons program where they were researching antibiotic resistant strains of plague.

---

I've seen this said in this thread, but not from any sort of official reporting. Not saying it's not true, but where is everyone getting this "biological weapons" angle from? Aside from the basic mistrust of Russians, that is

https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/top-scientist-sounds-grim-alarm-080747751.html

quote:

---

Kevin Esvelt, a biologist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, theorized in a thread on X on Monday that the reports of an anti-plague institute employee dying from pneumonic plague don't add up.

"Russia's five-hospital quarantine, FSB involvement, and reported hazmat use in response to the death of a single researcher at a weapons-lineage Irkutsk lab are inconsistent with a lab-acquired plague infection, which would have been treated with prophylactic antibiotics," Esvelt, 44, wrote.

"Russian authorities have surely sequenced the Irkutsk pathogen, but refuse to identify it," he continued. "Physical lockdown indicates it cannot be controlled with prophylactic antibiotics, implying engineered pan-resistance or that it isn't plague at all."

---

I'm currently in russia with my Russian wife and kids. I want to come back to the United States but we are having trouble. Anyone happen to know anyone at the state dept?