The United States and the World Health Organisation (WHO) are seeking further information from Russia over suspected cases of plague, as Moscow faces pressure to clarify reports surrounding the infections.
The development follows the death of a female worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East, who authorities said died last week from pneumonia of undetermined origin.
Reports differ on how the woman may have contracted the suspected infection. One report said she told medical staff she accidentally broke a test tube containing live bacteria while collecting samples, while another said she had travelled to a region where plague occurs naturally among wild rodents.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the reports as rumours and speculation, saying Russia’s national public health and consumer rights agency, Rospotrebnadzor, would issue an official statement. The agency said laboratory analysis of material from the woman did not detect microorganisms associated with her work handling dangerous pathogens.
Rospotrebnadzor also said there had been no emergency or security breach and that no other infectious disease complaints had been recorded among institute employees in the preceding 10 days. However, the agency did not specify the cause of the woman’s pneumonia and death or address reports of a second employee with pneumonia of undetermined cause.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said information from Russia remained limited and urged Moscow to be transparent, while WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organisation had requested further details to clarify the cause of the severe pneumonia, the pathogen that prompted public health measures and reports of a second affected employee.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there was no indication of a broader threat to the United States but that it would continue monitoring the situation closely. A European Commission spokesperson also said Europe was closely monitoring the case, while nearly 200 people were reportedly placed under medical observation following the lab worker’s death.
Boluwatife Enome
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