WHO breaks silence on possible pneumonic plague in Russia, seeks clarity on second reported death

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday (Oct 6) said that it has been following up on the reported death of the laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Antiplague Research Institute in Russia. Quoting Russian health authorities, WHO said that Russia confirmed that no case of plague had recently been registered in Irkutsk oblast. This comes even as on Oct 6, local media reports claimed that a second person died at the Irkutsk District Hospital in Siberia and had symptoms similar to the lab worker Darya Shipilova who died on Oct 2.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a statement on X, said that the UN health agency has been tracking the developments since initial media reports emerged. "In response to WHO’s verification request under the International Health Regulations, the Russian health authorities ," Tedros said in the statement. According to WHO, Russian authorities said an epidemiological investigation had been conducted, preventive and control measures implemented, and identified contacts placed under medical observation and tested. They also reported that no high-threat pathogens had been detected among the contacts and that medical observation of all identified contacts had been completed. WHO said it has remained in contact with Russian health authorities and offered technical support while requesting further information to establish the cause of the severe pneumonia and identify the pathogen that prompted the public health measures.

The agency also sought clarification on media reports of a second employee who was said to have pneumonia of undetermined cause.
"WHO has remained in contact with the Russian health authorities and has offered technical support. WHO has requested further information to clarify the cause of the severe pneumonia, the pathogen that prompted the public health measures, and media reports of a second employee with pneumonia of undetermined cause," the statement added.

Also Read: Mask mandate, quarantine: Plague scare in Russia triggers emergency measures but officials downplay concerns

What happened?

A 28-year-old female employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, identified as Darya Shipilova, was hospitalized last Tuesday with symptoms of severe pneumonia and died on Thursday. Reports indicate she may have been accidentally exposed to pneumonic plague via a broken test tube. The federal health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor officially classified the cause of death as "pneumonia of unknown origin." Initially, Irkutsk officials described the illness as a "particularly dangerous infection," but later jumped into action as the news triggered massive scare.

Russia downplays plague rumours

However, Russia has downplayed the rumours with its federal public health agency and consumer protection watchdog saying that lab worker was diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown etiology" and laboratory analysis of material from the patient did not reveal any microorganisms associated with her work handling dangerous pathogens. Additionally, the institute’s special commission and Rospotrebnadzor concluded that no emergency or security breach had occurred and no other infectious disease complaints had been registered among institute employees over the preceding 10 days.

Rospotrebnadzor also said all close contacts were placed under medical observation with daily laboratory testing, which detected two cases of Covid-19 and two cases of rhinovirus, but no other infections. Irkutsk region Governor Igor Kobzev said in a video published Monday that family members and close relatives under quarantine could be discharged next week. The Kremlin referred all questions about the issue to Rospotrebnadzor.