On the 6th (local time), Russian officials announced that an employee at a plague research institute had been diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown origin.” Russian authorities stated that comprehensive epidemic prevention measures were implemented immediately following the incident, and the current epidemiological situation remains stable.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the organization has been actively monitoring the situation regarding the fatal case.
Official Russian Announcement
On the 6th, the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) issued a statement on its website confirming that an employee of the Siberian and Far Eastern Anti-Plague Institute in Irkutsk had been diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown origin.” Comprehensive epidemic prevention measures were taken immediately, and the epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region and relevant cities remains stable.
Recent online reports claimed that an employee of the Siberian and Far Eastern Anti-Plague Institute had died after contracting the plague. The Rospotrebnadzor statement noted that no microorganisms related to the patient’s professional activities were detected in samples taken from them. The Institute’s biosafety oversight committee confirmed that no accidents had occurred during work involving pathogenic microorganisms. An expert committee dispatched by Rospotrebnadzor to the institute corroborated these findings.
The statement indicated that comprehensive prevention measures were implemented immediately; contacts of the patient were identified as broadly as possible and subjected to medical observation and daily laboratory testing. No cases of infectious disease have been reported among the institute’s staff over the past ten days.
The statement added that the epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region, the city of Irkutsk, and the city of Shelekhov is currently stable. The number of respiratory viral infection cases in the Irkutsk region over the past two weeks remains largely consistent with historical averages.
Kremlin Statement
Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary to the Russian President, stated at a press conference on the 6th that Rospotrebnadzor would continue to release information as work on the matter proceeds. WHO Statement
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated on the social media platform X that the patient died on October 2 after being hospitalized with severe pneumonia. The WHO has been actively monitoring the situation regarding this fatality since it was first reported. Russian health authorities informed the WHO that no cases of plague had recently been reported in the Irkutsk region and that testing of the patient’s contacts revealed no high-threat pathogens.
Additionally, according to information obtained by CMG reporters, Tedros stated on the 7th (local time) that technical support regarding the plague and laboratory biosafety has been provided to Russia; however, a comprehensive risk assessment cannot yet be conducted as the full details of the incident are not yet available. The WHO has requested that Russia provide details on the laboratory testing performed on the deceased individual and their contacts, the specific reasons for the public health measures implemented, and the health status of the contacts.