Tod einer jungen Frau: Lungenpest-Verdacht: WHO und USA fordern Infos von Russland

The death of a young scientist working at a plague research center in Siberia has sparked concern from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States. The WHO and U.S. officials have requested more information from Russia to determine the cause of the severe lung infection, the culprit organism, and to address conflicting reports of a second lab worker falling ill with an unknown cause.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the request for additional details on X. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump indicated he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the mysterious case, stating he had scheduled a call. The 28-year-old scientist died at a regional hospital in Schelechov, Irkutsk, Siberia, on Friday.

The cause of death was listed as "lungs inflammation of unknown origin." The WHO offered support to Russia to investigate the cause, providing technical assistance and maintaining contact with Russian health authorities. Initial media reports suggested it might be a case of lab-acquired plague following an accidental release, but Russian authorities stated no highly dangerous pathogens had been detected in contacts, and medical observation of all identified contacts was complete, as reported by the WHO chief.

Plague is a severe form of the disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which can occur when infection spreads to the lungs. It is treatable with antibiotics if treatment begins early. Plague is still present in countries in Africa, the Americas, and Asia, but not in Germany. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed receiving reports of a suspected case of lung plague in the Russian region of Irkutsk, leading to a fatality, and are closely monitoring the situation.

However, the CDC also stated that the reported case had not been confirmed. The U.S. embassy in Moscow noted they were closely monitoring the developments. The U.S. government's ability to assist Americans in Russia is limited, especially outside Moscow, due to health and safety concerns. U.S. officials warned Moscow that failing to disclose details of the scientist's death would violate international health obligations.

Russia had previously provided few details about the mysterious incident. Speculation about a potential epidemic arose on social media, citing the similarities between the start of the 2019-2020 COVID-19 pandemic with mysterious initial reports in Wuhan, China, and past Russian mishandling of other crises, such as the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 and the sinking of the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk in 2000.

Trust in official communications remains low, and this year, Russian authorities in Siberia reportedly slaughtered thousands of livestock due to suspected outbreaks, despite farmers believing their animals were healthy.