Question marks remain regarding the suspicion of plague that emerged after the death of a laboratory worker in Russia.
Russian authorities announced that no cases of plague were detected in people who were in contact with 28-year-old Darya Shipilova, who died.
CLAIM THAT THE TEST TUBE IS BROKEN
Shipilova, who worked at the Irkutsk Plague Research Institute, which conducts studies on dangerous pathogens, died on October 2.
It was claimed that Shipilova dropped a test tube containing live bacteria in the laboratory, and her death was claimed to be related to this accident.
While the Moscow administration stated that the young woman's death was caused by pneumonia, the source of which has not yet been determined, laboratory investigations regarding the exact cause of death are continuing.
ACCORDING TO THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, ITS RESEARCH CONTINUES
The World Health Organization also reported that Russian authorities are investigating whether Shipilova's death was caused by pulmonary plague.
Russian authorities announced that no cases of infectious diseases have been reported among the institute's employees in the last 10 days.
People who may have come into contact with Shipilova were identified, placed under medical supervision, and tested. Two Covid-19 and two rhinovirus cases were detected among those tested. No other pathogens were found.
The Moscow administration also informed the World Health Organization that no cases of plague were recorded in Irkutsk. However, it is not yet clear whether the plague caused Shipilova's death.
The World Health Organization evaluated the public health risk as "medium-low" for Irkutsk, "low" for Russia and "very low" for Europe. It was announced that we are in communication with Russian authorities and efforts are continuing to verify laboratory tests.
CALL FOR TRANSPARENCY FROM THE USA
Developments are also followed closely by Washington. US President Donald Trump described the situation as "a big problem for Russia" and offered help to Moscow. Asked whether he had met with Russian President Putin about the epidemic in Russia, Trump said, "We have an arranged phone call. We will meet very soon." he replied.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the situation was being monitored "very closely" and called for transparency from Russia.
According to the news of The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), unnamed US officials made a statement on the issue.
Officials argued that the US administration called on Russia to share details regarding the death of the laboratory worker who died of suspected pneumonia.
Claiming that the United States warned Moscow that not sharing the details would conflict with Russia's international health obligations, officials said that "very little information has been shared" with Washington on the issue so far.
Authorities suggested that the lack of information sharing led to concerns about the spread of an infectious disease within Russia and beyond its borders.
An unnamed spokesperson from the US State Department stated that additional information was requested from Russia and that other countries were contacted on this issue.
