Alarm rippled far beyond Siberia this week after reports surfaced of a suspected second case of plague linked to a research institute in Russia’s Irkutsk region — prompting calls for openness from Washington, Brussels and the World Health Organization, and leading neighbouring Mongolia to tighten health surveillance at the border.
Russian news outlet People of Baikal reported on Friday that a 28-year-old woman employed at a plague research institute in Siberia’s Irkutsk region had died of the disease, possibly after contracting it from a broken test tube.
International concern has mounted over the death and amid suspicions that a second employee at the institute has fallen ill.
The US, the European Union and the World Health Organization have all called on Russia to be transparent about the situation.
Mongolia’s government said that “health surveillance and monitoring measures [were] being implemented at the border” with Russia.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus today urged Moscow to clarify “media reports of a second employee with pneumonia of undetermined cause” at the Irkutsk institute.
European Commission spokeswoman Eva Hrncirova also called for Russia to “share timely and transparent reporting” about the reported plague case.
Russian authorities played down reports of an incident at the anti-plague institute in Siberia
Inside Russia, officials moved quickly to tamp down fears, saying the woman’s death was caused by pneumonia and stressing there was no indication of an outbreak.
Asked about reports of a second case, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “the vast majority of what the media is reporting regarding this situation is false information”.
People should rely solely on official statements from Russian health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, he insisted.
Russia’s health agency earlier said it saw “no epidemic risks” following the reported plague death.
“More than 90 percent of contacts have completed medical observation. No health disorders associated with infectious pathology were detected,” health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said in a statement, stressing that “there are no epidemic risks for the population of Irkutsk and the Irkutsk region”.
The agency also said the woman had been “vaccinated and had immunity to dangerous infections with which she worked”.
Mounting concern in the US
The issue has also reached the highest levels in Washington. US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he would speak very soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the reported plague death.
Asked about this, Mr Peskov said he had “no information” regarding a formal US request for clarification, nor about a call scheduled between the two leaders.
Russian authorities denied they were imposing anti-plague measures and played down the reports of an incident at the anti-plague institute in Siberia’s Irkutsk region last week.
But the US is showing growing concern, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling on Russia to be open about the situation.
“We encourage Russia to be transparent and share more information with the world so that all of us could react accordingly and appropriately,” Mr Rubio said during a trip to Iceland.
“Depending on what we learn about it, we would learn how to respond,” he added.
The WHO director also urged Russia to be transparent.
“Timely, complete and transparent information sharing under the International Health Regulations is essential to clarify conflicting reports and enable an accurate assessment of potential public health risks,” Mr Ghebreyesus wrote on X.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the US State Department had sent Russia a confidential diplomatic communication known as a demarche, warning Russia that failure to disclose details runs counter to its international health obligations.
Cause of death ‘undetermined’
The People of Baikal report on Friday said the deceased woman – named as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova – may have contracted pneumonic plague from a broken test tube.
Other media reported a possible link between her death and a lab accident at the facility.
The People of Baikal outlet also said up to 200 people with whom she may have had contact were under quarantine.
The WHO said there was a ‘moderate to low’ risk for Irkutsk based on the available information
Russian authorities, however, said the cause of death has not been confirmed, and Rospotrebnadzor rejected claims circulating online in a document that special measures had been introduced.
Russian officials said post-mortem tests had not detected the disease.
Irkutsk Regional Governor Igor Kobzev said that a Rospotrebnadzor inspection had found the woman died of pneumonia and the cause was “undetermined”.
“No microorganisms linked to the young woman’s professional work were found in her biological samples,” he said, adding that no other staff at the institute had sought medical attention since her death.
WHO said that an update received yesterday from Russia stressed that “no case of this dangerous disease has been recorded in the city of Irkutsk”.
The update said Russia had launched an epidemiological investigation into a “case of community-acquired pneumonia” in an employee at the Irkutsk institute, and had identified contacts and made arrangements for medical monitoring and laboratory testing.
“Test results showed no presence of dangerous infectious disease pathogens in any of the contacts,” the update said, according to WHO.
‘Moderate to low’ risk
The WHO meanwhile said there was a “moderate to low” risk for Irkutsk based on the available information, spokesman Christian Lindmeier said in Geneva yesterday, adding it was monitoring the situation closely.
Plague is a bacterial disease that can occur in several forms, including pneumonic plague, which is the most contagious type and can be transmitted by respiratory means. Bubonic plague is transmitted by infected fleas.
Pneumonic plague, which causes lung failure, can be fatal if not treated early, according to WHO.
Mr Trump had said he was ready to help Russia if needed.
But in an apparent response to Mr Trump’s offer, the Russian watchdog said that the country was prepared to assist the US in combating its own outbreaks of infectious diseases.
It highlighted among other things a “significantly worsened” measles situation in three US states, and a “fatal case of plague” recorded in New Mexico in June.
Measles cases have increased under the Trump administration, in which vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr serves as health secretary.
Meanwhile an international conference on plague and other infectious diseases will be held in Irkutsk on 21 and 22 October, although organisers said it was “unrelated to the recent death of an employee of the anti-plague institute”.
