Russia says a plague institute worker’s death poses no epidemic danger, while the World Health Organization says it still lacks the details for a full risk assessment.
WHO investigates Siberia plague reports as Russia says the death of a plague institute worker poses no epidemic risk, yet the agency says it still needs more information. According to Reuters, Russia’s health regulator said on Wednesday that no epidemic was likely in Siberia, while the WHO pressed Moscow for the cause of her death. No official body has confirmed plague as the cause.
Russia Says No Epidemic Risk After Plague Institute Death
Reuters reported, that the regulator Rospotrebnadzor is winding down its precautionary measures and has shared its latest information with the WHO. The regulator said no plague cases had been found among the woman’s contacts. It added that 90 percent of those placed in quarantine had been released after nearly 5,000 lab tests found no dangerous pathogens, according to the same Reuters report.
Reuters also reported that the 28 year old technician died last Friday from pneumonia of undetermined origin, and that around 200 people were initially quarantined. The Kremlin said Russia had informed the WHO properly, according to Reuters.
AFP reported earlier this week that the Irkutsk regional governor said a special expert commission had found the cause of death was pneumonia of undetermined origin. The governor also said no other staff from the institute had sought medical help since her death, according to AFP.
How WHO Investigates Siberia Plague Reports
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency had received information about a second sick employee from two media outlets, one of them Russian, and had asked Russia to respond. Tedros added that the agency cannot ignore any reporting that reaches it, Al Jazeera reported. The outlet also said WHO official Maria Van Kerkhove told reporters the agency does not know what agent caused the first death and wants regular updates.
Reuters reported that the WHO first rated the public risk as low, but said on Wednesday that it could not make a fuller assessment without more information from Russia. CNN reported that Tedros said a full risk assessment had not been possible.
Second Plague Case Reports Remain Unverified
Al Jazeera reported that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called much of the media coverage “false information” and told reporters to rely on Rospotrebnadzor statements. Reuters said it found no such reports in Russian media and no evidence that a second person in Siberia had died, though some social media bloggers made such claims without evidence.
After the WHO briefing, the agency sent Reuters a link to a report by Starhit.ru, which Reuters described as a celebrity gossip outlet, along with a Daily Mail follow up. Adding that some Western outlets had cited unnamed Russian media in reporting a second death from plague, a claim that remains unverified.
Is There a Plague Risk Beyond Russia?
Al Jazeera reported that CDC Director Erica Schwartz described the risk to the United States as extremely small, and that the agency is working with other US departments to monitor travelers from the region. The CDC also has a health station at New York’s JFK airport that can screen arrivals. A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson told Reuters that about 200 people a year travel from the Siberian region to the United States, according to Al Jazeera, which added that direct flights between the two countries have been suspended since 2022.
Reuters reported that Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have stepped up precautionary border measures. US President Donald Trump called the death a big problem for Russia and offered help, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Moscow should share more information.
Unconfirmed Pneumonic Plague Claims and the Lab Accident Question
AP reported that the independent outlet Lyudi Baikala cited unidentified sources who said the woman died of pneumonic plague. The South China Morning Post reported that the outlet also said a broken test tube may have caused the infection. CBS News reported that the Russian government denied any lab accident and attributed the death to pneumonia of unknown origin.
To Vima reported that Gennady Onishchenko, a former head of Rospotrebnadzor, told the state news agency TASS the illness was most likely not plague. There is no confirmation she died of plague, and that one regional governor said she “may” have.
What Is Pneumonic Plague?
Citing the WHO, that pneumonic plague affects the lungs and can spread between people through respiratory particles. The WHO says plague can be fatal but responds to antibiotics. AP reported that the WHO spokesman said the disease occurs naturally in wild animals in that part of Siberia.
