The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday that public health risks in Russia are assessed as low following the report of a laboratory worker's death from suspected pneumonic plague.
The report of the death of an employee at the anti-plague institute in the Irkutsk region of Siberia caused concern last week. A representative of the UN health agency, Christian Lindmaier, stated that the WHO's initial risk assessment, based on available information, defines the risk as moderate or low for Irkutsk, low for the Russian Federation overall, and very low for the WHO European Region.
Lindmaier reported at a press briefing in Geneva that a woman who worked in the Irkutsk region laboratory died, and authorities are investigating whether pneumonic plague was the cause of her death.
The lab technician, whose name was given as Daria Shipilova, 28, worked at the institute that studies dangerous pathogens in part of Siberia, where plague occurs naturally in wild animals. According to the representative, the disease initially presented as a typical acute respiratory viral infection.
Lindmaier specified that Russian authorities have identified people who came into contact with the deceased and are monitoring them. He added that according to test results, no pathogens of dangerous infectious diseases were found among all contacts.
The WHO is closely monitoring the situation, cooperating with the headquarters to inform other countries and is ready to provide support to Russian authorities upon request.