Russia’s consumer health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, denied reports of a second illness case linked to the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute following the death of a 28-year-old laboratory worker. The agency stated no illness was detected among individuals who had contact with the worker, whose death was attributed to community-acquired pneumonia, not plague. The denial came amid social media speculation about a second case, which Russia said was unfounded.
Rospotrebnadzor emphasized that no traces of plague were found in samples from the deceased worker. The World Health Organization confirmed that around 200 contacts were initially quarantined and tested, with most since released. WHO’s Maria Van Kerkhove expressed uncertainty about how the worker was infected, noting many pathogens can cause pneumonia, and stressed that proper protective gear should have prevented lab-acquired infection.
The WHO continues to press Russia for more information as global concern grows, drawing comparisons to early Covid-19 due to limited transparency and respiratory disease uncertainty.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing