China 'stockpiles food' amid fears of 'Russian plague' with 'some warning of possible lockdowns' - London Business News

Fears of a suspected “Russian Plague” outbreak have sparked a rush to stockpile food and household essentials in China, as unverified social media claims fuel anxiety over a potential public health crisis reminiscent of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Residents have reportedly scrambled to buy rice, sugar, eggs, canned food and other daily necessities after online speculation suggested the deadly disease could spread across China and prompt sweeping restrictions.

Chinese news channel FTV reported growing concern among shoppers, with rumours of possible lockdowns circulating despite the absence of confirmed evidence of an outbreak spreading beyond Russia.

The panic follows the death of Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory worker at a Russian anti-plague institute, on October 2. Her death reportedly prompted a major quarantine response involving at least 200 people, raising questions about whether she had been exposed to dangerous infectious bacteria.

Officials in Irkutsk have denied that Shipilova died from plague, instead attributing her death to “pneumonia”.

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But uncertainty surrounding the circumstances has fuelled speculation online, with unverified reports claiming she may have dropped a vial containing plague-causing bacteria.

Other claims have suggested she recently returned from a research trip to Mongolia involving potentially infected animals. Neither account has been independently verified.

The World Health Organisation is investigating the reported incident, while cautioning against drawing conclusions before the available evidence has been assessed.

In a statement, the organisation said it had found no “evidence of ongoing transmission associated with this event”. However, it added that “a laboratory-associated exposure” to the bacteria responsible for plague “cannot be fully excluded at this stage”.

The distinction is significant; a possible laboratory exposure does not, by itself, establish that an outbreak is under way or that the disease is spreading through the wider population.

Nevertheless, the reports have generated particular anxiety in neighbouring China, where memories of the disruption caused by Covid-19 have heightened sensitivity to rumours of infectious disease outbreaks.

Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, described growing alarm on Chinese social media, with residents near the Russia-China and Russia-Mongolia borders reportedly among those most concerned.

Writing on X, Huang said: “Posts on Chinese social media have urged residents . . . to stockpile food and protective supplies, with some warning of possible future lockdowns.”

He added that separate anonymous claims circulating on X alleged plague cases or deaths in Shanghai and Chongqing linked to recent travel from Russia. Those claims remain unverified.

The episode shows how uncertain reports of a potential health emergency can quickly trigger public anxiety across borders, especially when social media amplifies speculation before authorities establish the facts.

For now, the WHO statement provides no confirmed evidence of ongoing transmission linked to the Russian incident. But as investigators examine the circumstances surrounding Shipilova’s death, rumours of a new pandemic-style emergency are already prompting concern thousands of miles away.

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