WHO seeks clarity on second pneumonia case in Russia amid plague fears

The World Health Organization is looking into reports of a second pneumonia case linked to an anti-plague institute in Irkutsk, Siberia, after the Kremlin said there are no plague cases in the region following the death of a lab worker.

The latest reports suggest Russia is not fully cooperating with international health authorities by rapidly sharing its data on the cause of death of a 28-year-old woman who worked at the anti-plague lab, who died Oct. 2.

“WHO has requested further information to clarify the cause of the severe pneumonia, the pathogen that prompted the public health measures, and media reports of a second employee with pneumonia of undetermined cause,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday.

"Timely, complete and transparent information sharing under the International Health Regulations is essential to clarify conflicting reports and enable an accurate assessment of potential public health risks," Tedros said in his social media post.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he had a "call scheduled" with Russian President Vladimir Putin "very soon" to discuss the situation.

The WHO is looking into the death of the laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East. Alexei Tsydenov, head of the neighboring republic of Buryatia, suggested this could be a case of pneumonic plague, as did several initial media reports.

Pneumonic plague is fatal unless patients receive treatment with antibiotics.

Russian authorities have said that “no case of plague had recently been registered in Irkutsk oblast.” Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s national public health agency, said that the employee died from “pneumonia of unknown etiology” and that no microorganisms associated with her work were identified in the patient sample.

The WHO said Tuesday that "no cause of death had officially been confirmed."

More than 200 people had initially been placed under observation following the woman's death. In a statement sent to the WHO Tuesday, Russian health authorities said they conducted an investigation “following the identification of a case of community acquired pneumonia” and that “no pathogens of dangerous infectious diseases were detected among any of the contacts.”

The WHO said they have remained in contact with Russian authorities and "offered technical support."

The EU and the U.S. are both monitoring the situation closely. The European Commission and countries are set to discuss the case at Wednesday’s Health Security Meeting, according to a Commission spokesperson.

But the U.S. is growing increasingly concerned with Russia's transparency over the case. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday urged Russia to share more information, adding that it would be "irresponsible" to speculate until then.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the U.S. sent a formal diplomatic message to Russia requesting more information about the woman's death and reminding the Kremlin that it has obligations under international law to share information about disease outbreaks in a timely manner.

The WHO said Tuesday that the risk is “moderate to low” for the Irkutsk region, “low” for Russia and “very low” for Europe.