The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking additional information from Russian authorities following the death of a laboratory worker in Siberia amid reports that she may have contracted pneumonic plague.
The worker, identified by Russian media as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova, died on October 2 after being hospitalized with severe pneumonia. She worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, a facility that specializes in research into plague and other infectious diseases.
The WHO said it has not received enough information to determine what caused the woman’s illness or whether pneumonic plague was involved. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency does not yet have the full picture of the incident and needs timely, complete and transparent information to assess the potential public health risks.
Russian health authorities have not confirmed that the woman died from plague. The country’s public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, has described her illness as pneumonia of unknown origin and said testing found no evidence that people who had contact with her were infected with dangerous pathogens.
According to the WHO, Russia has reported that around 200 people who came into contact with the deceased worker were identified and placed under quarantine or medical observation. The agency has requested further details about the laboratory tests conducted on the worker and her contacts, as well as the reasons behind the public health measures implemented in the region.
The WHO is also seeking clarification over reports that a second employee at the facility developed pneumonia of undetermined cause. The organization said it has offered Russia technical support related to plague, laboratory biosafety and biosecurity.
Russian authorities have maintained that no recent cases of plague have been recorded in the Irkutsk region. Moscow has also said that tests among the deceased worker’s contacts did not identify plague or other dangerous infectious pathogens.
Pneumonic plague is a severe form of plague that affects the lungs and can spread between people through respiratory droplets. However, there is currently no confirmed evidence that the Siberian worker’s death was caused by the disease.
The WHO’s request for additional information reflects the uncertainty surrounding the case. While the agency continues to communicate with Russian health authorities, it says more complete information is needed before it can conduct a full assessment of the potential public health risk.
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