Mystery surrounds young worker's death at Russia lab studying severe diseases

The World Health Organisation (WHO) remains unsure about the cause of death of a young worker at a Russian laboratory specializing in severe diseases such as plague. The UN health agency has received preliminary, unverified reports pointing towards pneumonic plague, a rare and deadly form of the disease that can spread from person to person.

This form of plague causes severe pneumonia, but recovery is likely if detected and treated promptly. WHO, in its first full Disease Outbreak News following the incident earlier this month, has called for further investigation. Russian health authorities, WHO noted, have conducted over 5,500 tests and found no evidence of any harmful microorganisms.

WHO emphasized the need for more clinical, epidemiological, and laboratory data, including the confirmation of the deceased worker's diagnosis, to bolster confidence in their assessment. There is also mention of a "purported second case," which WHO had previously linked to two British and Serbian tabloid news outlets citing unnamed sources in Russia.