Russia warns against ‘false’ info as reports emerge of second plague case
The US, EU and WHO have urged Russia to provide transparency over the reported plague-related death of a laboratory technician in Siberia.
Moscow: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that numerous media reports about a second suspected case of plague in Siberia were false information. The Kremlin urged people to rely only on statements from Russia's health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor. US, EU, and WHO officials have all called for transparency regarding a laboratory technician's death at a plague research institute in Irkutsk region last week.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus requested Moscow clarify media reports of a second employee with pneumonia of unknown cause. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that most media accounts were unfounded and urged the public to trust official sources. Peskov also claimed to have no information about a request from Washington for clarification on the situation.
A source close to the matter reported earlier that the US had sent a confidential diplomatic communication, known as a demarche, to Russia regarding the incident. Initial reports suggested the deceased woman, identified as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova, may have contracted pneumonic plague from a broken test tube, and up to 200 people who may have come into contact with her were placed under quarantine.
However, Russian authorities have not confirmed the cause of death, and Rospotrebnadzor has dismissed claims of special measures being put in place.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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