The World Health Organization on Wednesday urged Russia to be fully open about the October 2 death of a plague laboratory technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, and about reports of a second employee with undetermined pneumonia. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X that the technician was hospitalized with severe pneumonia, as early media reports suggested pneumonic plague from an alleged accidental laboratory exposure.
The agency contacted Russian authorities on Saturday under the International Health Regulations. Russia answered on Tuesday, after being asked for the cause of the illness and for the public health measures taken.
Tedros said prompt and transparent sharing is essential to clear up conflicting reports and to judge the public health risk, and that the WHO will give technical support if asked. The initial assessment puts the risk at moderate to low in the Irkutsk region, low for Russia as a whole, and very low for Europe.
Speaking to parliamentarians in Tanzania on Tuesday, he said cooperation on health is indispensable because viruses do not respect borders.