The World Health Organization (WHO) has indicated a low risk of a plague epidemic in Russia following the death of a lab technician who worked at a plague research institute in Siberia. Darya Shipilova, 28, died last week, two days after falling ill.
Russian media reports suggested Shipilova may have become infected after an accident at her workplace, where dangerous pathogens are kept. However, Russian authorities have attributed her death to "pneumonia of an unknown aetiology."
Christian Lindmeier, a WHO spokesperson, stated on Tuesday that there is no sign of a wider outbreak. He added that all identified contacts of Shipilova are being monitored for illness, with none showing symptoms to date. The WHO has assessed the health risk as "moderate to low" for Irkutsk, "low" for the rest of Russia, and "very low" for Europe.
Strict quarantine measures have been implemented at the research centre in Irkutsk and in several nearby hospitals. According to Russian media, 60 of Shipilova’s colleagues have been confined to the institute since Friday for testing.
The Kremlin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, urged the public to rely on statements from Russia’s health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, which reported a stable situation in Irkutsk with no new infectious disease cases among institute employees. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Moscow to release more details about the case, stating that Washington is watching developments closely.