WHO says Russia told it ‘no cases of plague’ but isn’t identifying pathogen
'WHO has requested additional information from Russia on which pneumonia-causing pathogen led to the woman’s death,' the WHO added, saying it is monitoring the situation closely.
The World Health Organization (WHO) stated on Tuesday that Russia informed the global health agency that "no cases of plague" have been recorded in the Irkutsk Oblast region of Siberia, following reports of a lab worker dying of potential pneumonic plague. However, the WHO has not yet received information from Russian authorities regarding the specific pathogen responsible for the worker's death.
WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier revealed that the laboratory where the worker was employed investigates dangerous pathogens, including plague in Siberia, where the disease is naturally found in wild animals. Russian officials have not yet requested WHO experts to deploy to the region, classifying the health risks as moderate-to-low for Irkutsk, low for the entire Russian Federation, and very low for the WHO European region.
The U.S. President and Secretary of State have also expressed concern over the situation. Canadian Health Minister Marjorie Michel confirmed that there is "no risk for Canada."
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Also reported by 4 other outlets
- Russia tells WHO there are no plague cases in Siberian city koreatimes.co.kr
- How Russia and the World Are Responding to a Possible Case of Pneumonic Plague medpagetoday.com
- How Russia and the world are responding to a possible case of pneumonic plague after lab worker death pbs.org
- How Russia and the world are responding to a possible case of pneumonic plague after lab worker dies winnipegfreepress.com
