- Russia denies plague cases in Irkutsk to WHO.
- Laboratory worker's death not linked to plague.
- Quarantine measures remain in place in Irkutsk.
Russian authorities told the World Health Organization on Tuesday that it has "no cases" of plague in the city of Irkutsk in Siberia, where a laboratory worker at a plague research institute died last week, according to a spokesperson for the UN health agency. Moscow, which is required under global health rules tocrespond to WHO requests within 24 hours, previously told the WHO authorities were investigating whether pneumonic plague caused her death.
"No case of this dangerous disease has been recorded in the city of Irkutsk, Russian Federation," Russian authorities said in an official response to a WHO request, read out by WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier at a Geneva press briefing.
They also told the UN agency they have identified the people in contact with the deceased and that test results for dangerous infectious pathogens were negative.
The Daily Jagran could not immediately establish if this meant that they had also tested the laboratory worker and whether they could rule out plague in her case. The WHO has previously said that the risk of plague to the general population appeared to be low.
Russia denies laboratory worker death due to plague
Earlier today, Russian health authorities have denied reports that a laboratory worker at an anti-plague institute in Siberia died of plague, saying tests found no pathogen linked to her professional activity. The denial comes as more than 60 colleagues remain isolated and quarantine restrictions continue at several hospitals in the Irkutsk region, Euronews reported.
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What happened at Russian lab?
According to Euronews, citing Russia's national health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, on Monday, tests of biological material from Daria Shipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory assistant at the Irkutsk anti-plague institute, found no microorganisms associated with her work. It also said no accidents involving pathogenic microorganisms had been detected at the institute.
Shipilova died on October 2 after developing severe pneumonia. According to Euronews, previous reports citing unnamed sources close to regional security services had raised concerns that she may have contracted pneumonic plague after a test tube broke in the laboratory. Rospotrebnadzor said that among people who had contact with Shipilova, two cases of COVID-19 and two rhinovirus infections were detected, while no other infectious agents were identified.
Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said a special expert commission had determined that the cause of Shipilova's death was "pneumonia of unknown aetiology". "The situation remains under our control and under the control of experts," Kobzev said, as quoted by Euronews. Despite the authorities' denial of plague, more than 60 employees of the anti-plague institute have remained isolated inside the facility since Friday, as reported by Euronews.
Qurantine still in place
Several hospitals in Irkutsk were also placed under quarantine, including three city clinical hospitals, the Ivano-Matreninsky children's hospital and the city maternity hospital. The Central District Hospital in Shelekhov, where Shipilova lived, was also closed. A mask mandate was also introduced at the Irkutsk Aluminium Plant in Shelekhov, as reported by Euronews. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday urged journalists to rely on official information from Rospotrebnadzor rather than reports circulating elsewhere. Peskov told journalists to focus on official statements from Rospotrebnadzor and not on "various rumours, various speculations."
(With inputs from Reuters and ANI)