WHO seeks clarification after death at Russian plague research institute

The World Health Organization has asked Russia for more information about the death of a worker at an anti-plague research institute in Siberia, saying it does not yet have a complete picture of the event. Russian authorities say the 28-year-old employee died from pneumonia of undetermined origin and have not confirmed that she had pneumonic plague. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for “timely, complete and transparent information” and requested verification of reports that a second employee had pneumonia of undetermined cause.

He said the organisation was seeking laboratory test information to assess the possible public-health risk. Russia’s health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said there was no epidemic risk for people in Irkutsk and the surrounding region. It reported that more than 90% of people who had been in contact with the worker had completed medical observation and that no health disorders associated with infectious disease had been detected among them.

The woman, identified in Russian media as Darya Shipilova, worked at the Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East in Irkutsk. The reports do not establish how she became ill. Unconfirmed accounts suggested either that she broke a test tube containing a pathogen or that she became infected during a field trip to an area where plague occurs naturally among wild rodents.

Russian authorities said testing found no microorganisms related to her professional activity. At the same time, the BBC reported that a pro-government federal news outlet deleted posts mentioning a possible plague case and that local officials removed a message advising against travel to Shelekhov because of a possible infection. The Kremlin accused the media of spreading false information, while the health watchdog maintained that there was no epidemic threat.

The uncertainty prompted international requests for information. The United States issued a diplomatic message seeking additional details, although Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was unaware of such a request. US President Donald Trump said he expected to speak with President Vladimir Putin about the death, but Peskov said no call had been scheduled.

Trump said he did not believe the incident involved a bioweapon. Neighbouring Mongolia introduced health surveillance at its border with Russia as a precaution, describing the current risk as low. Lithuania said it had prepared testing, isolation and contact-tracing arrangements, but reported no evidence of increased plague risk.

The WHO says pneumonic plague can have a very short incubation period and can be fatal without early diagnosis and treatment, but the supplied reports do not establish that plague caused the worker’s death.