Plague Research Institute: Authority: Investigations in Irkutsk show no cases of plague

After the death of a scientist at a plague research center in Siberia, Russian authorities have almost completed screening of possible contact persons. Rospotrebnadzor, the agency responsible for disease control, said 90 percent of the people under observation had been examined.

No health impairments related to infectious diseases were found, the state news agency Tass quoted from the statement. “The results of almost 5,000 laboratory tests have not shown any dangerous pathogenic (disease-causing) microorganisms,” it said.

It was not stated how many possible contacts of the deceased scientist were investigated. Numbers of up to 200 people were mentioned in press reports.

The authority remains firm: There was no laboratory accident

The agency reiterated its statement on Sunday that there was no laboratory accident at the Plague Control Institute in Irkutsk. It was also emphasized that there is no risk of an epidemic in the region around 4,200 kilometers east of Moscow. Rospotrebnadzor said Russia had informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about the incident in accordance with the rules.

The 28-year-old woman died last Friday. The official cause of death is pneumonia of unknown origin. The authorities have not yet provided any further details. However, it was said that the woman was not infected with the plague pathogens with which she had to deal with at work.

Kremlin calls media reports incorrect

However, the unclear case of a possible infection with pneumonic plague is causing concern abroad. The USA and the WHO are pressing for more information. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow that people should stick to the official information from Rospotrebnadzor. Most of the information about Irkutsk in the media is false.