Suspected plague deaths reported in Russia! WHO demands clarification of the cause, CDC strengthens border quarantine

2026/10/08 14:50

Lin Mingcheng, deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explained that there was a suspected plague incident in Russia, and the WHO responded with information. (File photo)

[Reporter Luo Bi/Taipei Report] Suspected plague deaths have been reported in Russia. After checking with the World Health Organization (WHO), the CDC said today that Russia claimed that no plague cases had been reported recently in the place where the incident occurred, but the cause of the severe pneumonia among the research institute employees still needs to be clarified. The WHO has asked Russia to explain, and my country has strengthened border fever screening and other quarantine measures.

Lin Mingcheng, deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pointed out that international media recently reported that the Plague Prevention and Control Institute of Irkutsk Oblast, Siberia, Russia, reported a death from pneumonia of unknown cause on October 2, and a second suspected plague death was reported on October 6. In order to control the epidemic, the CDC sent a letter to the WHO through my country's International Health Regulations (IHR) counterpart on the 6th and received a formal reply on the 7th.

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According to information provided by WHO, Russian authorities informed WHO on the 6th that no plague cases have been reported in Irkutsk Oblast recently. In response to the case of an employee of the Plague Control Institute suffering from severe pneumonia, Russia has launched an epidemiological investigation and initiated prevention and control measures. All contacts have been listed and examined. No high-threat pathogens have been detected so far.

However, the WHO stated that the information on the relevant cases is still incomplete and it is not sufficient at this stage to draw empirical conclusions on whether the incident poses a potential risk to the public. It is necessary to remain cautious and continue to conduct risk assessments.

The Secretary-General of the WHO publicly asked the Russian authorities on the 6th to clarify the exact cause of the first case of severe pneumonia and the causative agent that prompted officials to implement large-scale public health measures, and to provide specific explanations for the second case of unexplained pneumonia reported by the media. WHO will continue to contact Russia to verify the content of media reports.

The CDC stated that there have been no cases of plague in Taiwan since 1953. According to WHO statistics, from 2019 to 2025, a total of 3,860 suspected cases of plague were reported in 10 countries around the world, of which 2,646 were confirmed and resulted in 423 deaths. The fatality rate of suspected cases was approximately 11%. About 98% of confirmed cases are concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar, while China and Mongolia reported 19 and 17 confirmed cases respectively.

The CDC emphasized that it has closely monitored the development of the incident and strengthened border quarantine. The country has relevant testing capabilities and a medical network for infectious disease prevention and control. The antibiotics required for treatment are also clinically available drugs with a stable supply and can be used for diagnosis, treatment and post-exposure prophylactic medication. Please do not panic excessively.