WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Russian authorities told the World Health Organization Tuesday that they had recorded no plague cases in Irkutsk, where a laboratory worker died last week after developing pneumonia of an unknown cause.
WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said the agency continues to investigate reports that pneumonic plague may have caused the death. Authorities have not confirmed that diagnosis.
The woman worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, which studies dangerous pathogens in a region where plague occurs naturally in wild animals.
WHO contacted Russian health authorities to request information about laboratory testing, the circumstances of the death and efforts to identify and monitor the woman’s contacts.
Lindmeier said WHO’s initial assessment placed the public health risk at moderate to low in Irkutsk, low across Russia and very low in the WHO European region. The agency will update that assessment as more information becomes available.
Russia’s public health agency, Rospotrebnadzor, said tests found no microorganisms linked to the researcher’s work in samples from her body. It also reported no plague infections among her contacts and no recent infectious illnesses among institute employees.
Testing of contacts identified cases of COVID-19 and rhinovirus, the agency said. Officials have not established whether those infections relate to the woman’s death.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said Tuesday that available information showed no secondary plague cases or evidence of sustained transmission between people.
Pneumonic plague occurs when the bacterium Yersinia pestis infects the lungs. It can spread through respiratory particles during close contact with an infected person. Early antibiotic treatment can cure the disease.
WHO said it remains in contact with Russian officials and stands ready to provide assistance if requested.
