WHO investigates the death of a Russian plague researcher amid reports of severe pneumonia and speculation over a possible lab accident
GENEVA: The World Health Organisation (WHO) is investigating the death of scientist at a plague research centre in Russia, reported German news agency dpa.
A 28-year-old female researcher at the Institute for Plague Control in Irkutsk died on Friday at a hospital in the nearby city of Shelekhov. There has been speculation that she might have contracted pneumonic plague through a laboratory accident.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Russian health authorities had reported that no case of plague had recently been registered in Irkutsk oblast.
“They informed WHO that an epidemiological investigation had been conducted, preventive and control measures implemented, and identified contacts placed under medical observation and tested,” he wrote on X.
Russian authorities had reported that “no high-threat pathogens had been detected among the contacts” and that medical observation of all identified contacts had been completed.
“WHO has requested further information to clarify the cause of the severe pneumonia, the pathogen that prompted the public health measures, and media reports of a second employee with pneumonia of undetermined cause,” Tedros said.
He said “timely, complete and transparent information sharing” under international health regulations was “essential to clarify conflicting reports and enable an accurate assessment of potential public health risks.”
The WHO had offered technical support to Russian authorities, he added.
