Russia responded to the US Embassy's statement about the alleged threat of plague

The recommendations published by the US Embassy due to a “possible case of plague” are a warning and at the same time propaganda, noted Svetlana Zhurova, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs. The deputy shared her opinion in a conversation with Lenta.ru.

American diplomats said the day before that they were monitoring publications about a possible case of pneumonic plague, the death of a person and the introduction of quarantine measures in Irkutsk. US citizens were advised to follow the recommendations of health services in the country, learn more about the course of the disease, and also monitor possible symptoms of diseases when visiting the Irkutsk region. The embassy recommended preparing a departure plan that does not rely on US authorities.

“This is about caring for citizens. Although in fact there is still no direct evidence [of a case of plague]. Of course, the institutions of the Irkutsk region had nowhere to go, because people would simply start saying that they were being deceived. Therefore, they are taking some measures there to calm people down,” said Zhurova.

According to the deputy, so far none of those who had contact with the laboratory assistant have become infected.

“Moreover, there is no evidence that the girl was infected,” she added.

On October 2, it became known that an employee of the anti-plague institute in the Irkutsk region ended up in the hospital and could not be saved. After this, a number of publications published reports that the Russian woman could have contracted pneumonic plague while performing her official duties, and about 200 people were quarantined. Later, Rospotrebnadzor clarified that the woman was diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown etiology.