Key facts
- A 28-year-old laboratory worker at Russia's Irkutsk Anti-plague Research Institute died.
- Russian authorities stated no evidence was found linking her death to pathogens at the lab.
- Dozens of people who had contact with the deceased worker have been quarantined.
- The WHO has asked Russia for details on the pneumonia-causing pathogen that led to the death.
- Russian officials stated the situation is under control and no new cases have been identified.
Russian authorities have stated that a laboratory worker who died last week at a plague research institute in Siberia did not contract the disease from her work, despite initial speculation. The 28-year-old woman, identified by local media as Darya Shipilova, died from suspected pneumonia. Russian news outlet People of Baikal had reported she may have contracted pneumonic plague from a broken test tube.
Russian authorities told the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday that no evidence of plague had been found in the worker or among dozens of her contacts who have been quarantined. Rospotrebnadzor, Russia's public health watchdog, stated that extensive laboratory tests determined "no microorganisms related to the girl's professional activities were found in her biological samples." Anna Popova, head of Rospotrebnadzor, and Governor Igor Kobzev of Irkutsk have asserted that the situation is under control and no new cases have emerged.
The WHO has requested further information from Russia regarding the specific pneumonia-causing pathogen responsible for the death. WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier indicated that the agency's initial risk assessment estimates the risk to be moderate to low for Irkutsk and very low for the WHO European region. Parts of the hospital where the worker died have reportedly been cordoned off, and an aluminum plant nearby has instructed its workers to wear masks.