The World Health Organization says Russia must explain the death of a woman from a suspected case of pneumonic plague and whether there is an additional case.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Russia is obligated under the International Health Regulations to clarify conflicting reports about the death of the woman, a laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Antiplague Research Institute in Irkutsk oblast.
“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,” Mr. Tedros said late Tuesday in a written statement.
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The statement hinted at a lack of cooperation from Russia, as the White House and global authorities try to pin down what happened in Siberia.
Initial reports said the lab worker contracted suspected plague during a work trip near the Mongolian border, while others speculated about a lab incident.
Russia’s health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said the woman had been “diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown etiology.”
SEE ALSO: Did plague kill a Russian lab worker? What to know about the Irkutsk case
“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,” Mr. Tedros said.
Scars from the COVID-19 pandemic loom in the background, since the communist government failed to be forthcoming about early cases in 2019 and whether the coronavirus leaked from a lab in Wuhan.
Critics said WHO reacted slowly to the COVID-19 crisis.
President Trump said he planned to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation and whether the U.S. can help.
Plague, often spread by rodents and their fleas, is a bacterial disease commonly associated with mass deaths in the Middle Ages.
It is treatable if caught early and takes various forms, such as bubonic infections through the skin and into lymph nodes, septicemic infections in the bloodstream and tissue, and pneumonic forms that enter the lungs.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is “aware of and closely monitoring” the Russian situation.
“At this time, there is no indication of a broader threat to the United States, but CDC and our interagency partners are prepared and will continue to monitor the situation closely,” the agency said on social media.
Russia, in response to WHO inquiries, said it did not register any case of plague in Irkutsk oblast, according to Mr. Tedros.
“They informed WHO that an epidemiological investigation had been conducted, preventive and control measures implemented, and identified contacts placed under medical observation and tested,” he said. “They reported that no high-threat pathogens had been detected among the contacts and that medical observation of all identified contacts had been completed.”
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