The WHO has asked Moscow to clarify the cause of severe pneumonia that killed a Siberian institute employee and to address reports of a second sick worker. Russia's health watchdog said it was winding down precautions.
Russian authorities said 28-year-old Darya Shipilova died on Friday from pneumonia of undetermined origin. About 200 people were initially quarantined after her death. Rospotrebnadzor said no plague cases had been found among her contacts and nearly 5,000 laboratory tests detected no dangerous pathogens. About 90% of those quarantined have since been released.
The watchdog said Shipilova was vaccinated and therefore immune to dangerous infections she worked with. The cause of her pneumonia remains unknown. The WHO has requested additional information about the diagnosis, the pathogen that prompted public health measures and reports of a second employee with pneumonia of unclear origin.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for timely and complete information sharing to resolve conflicting accounts and assess any potential public health risk. The Kremlin said Russia had informed the organization under established procedures. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged caution in relying on media reports and said most coverage of the situation was false.
Reuters said it found no Russian media reports of a second plague death and no evidence that such a death had occurred. Some bloggers had made the claim on social media without evidence. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also called on Moscow to provide more information.