WHO "requests information, including rumors of second employee patient" in response to plague incident

After a laboratory accident at the Irkutsk Quarantine Research Institute in Siberia, Russia, a female researcher died of "severe pneumonia of unknown cause," unconfirmed reports and rumors are circulating such as "another employee has become sick" and "another death has occurred," but the truth remains unclear and anxiety is spreading.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said in a post on social media

Tedros urged Russia to disclose information, saying, “To clarify conflicting reports and accurately assess potential public health risks, it is essential to share information in a timely, complete and transparent manner in accordance with International Health Regulations (IHR).”

According to the reports released so far, an accident occurred on September 25th when Darya Shipilova (28), a female employee working in the laboratory of the Irkutsk Quarantine Research Institute, accidentally broke a test tube containing live pathogens.

Szypilova's symptoms worsened on September 27, she was hospitalized on September 29, and died on October 2 in the intensive care unit of a hospital in the city of Shelekhov.

Russian authorities announced that Shipilova's cause of death was "pneumonia of unknown cause," no work-related microorganisms were detected in the sample, and that there were no pathogen incidents at the laboratory.

However, reports are coming out one after another both inside and outside of Russia pointing out that Sipilova may have died from pneumonic plague caused by exposure to Yersinia pestis, the pathogen of the plague.

In response to WHO's request for confirmation under the IHR, Tedros said Russian health authorities reported that no recent cases of plague had been registered in Irkutsk Oblast.

“An epidemiological investigation was conducted, prevention and control measures were implemented, and confirmed contacts were medically observed and tested,” and “high-risk pathogens were not detected in the contacts, and medical observation of all confirmed contacts was completed,” is what the Russian authorities reported to WHO.

Meanwhile, the British tabloid daily newspaper 'Daily Mail' claimed on the 6th, "Local media reported that another death occurred in the Irkutsk region."

However, the Daily Mail article does not specify which local media outlet made such a report.

Also, according to the Daily Mail, the authorities of the city of Baikalsk in Irkutsk Oblast posted a Telegram message on the 3rd saying, "There is unofficial information that a confirmed case of plague has occurred in the city of Shelehov, so please refrain from visiting Shelehov and nearby areas until the situation related to this threat becomes clear," but deleted it two hours later.

The Daily Mail also reported that "Russian articles reporting on the plague have begun to disappear" and that articles have been deleted from Moscow's Channel 5, REN TV, and the national daily Kommersant.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on the 6th that authorities are investigating the incident and that information will be provided as the investigation progresses.

He said that people should not listen to various rumors or speculations and should trust the official announcements of the authorities.

Previously, Russian authorities explained that the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the area where the incident occurred was stable and that preventive measures for contacts were nearing completion.

According to local Russian media, about 200 people were identified as contacts of the deceased researcher, and they underwent medical observation and examination.