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A Russian official attempted to move past the suspected death of a worker at a research laboratory from pneumonic plague in Siberia on Thursday, stating that a quarantine and other preventive measures were completed without detecting any dangerous pathogens.
The statement by Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev came one day after the World Health Organization requested more information from Russia regarding the death of the worker at the Siberian Anti-Plague Institute in Irkutsk, which sparked global concern over a possible case of pneumonic plague.
Media reports in Russia attributed the woman's death on October 2—identified by media as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova—to pneumonic plague, which can spread from person to person.
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Russian authorities have maintained strict secrecy regarding the case, stating only that the woman contracted pneumonia of an “unknown” origin and that her tests were negative for the pathogens she worked with.
Kobzev's statement did not offer details on what exactly caused the woman's pneumonia or what type of pathogens she was handling. He also did not explicitly state that her death was not caused by pneumonic plague.
Kobzev indicated that the woman had “community-acquired” pneumonia, a type of pneumonia contracted outside a hospital setting. He noted that she had been “vaccinated and was immune” to the pathogens she worked with.
He added that no accidents were detected at the institute, where “appropriate control measures for working with pathogenic microorganisms” have been verified.
The hospital where she died was placed under quarantine, and those who had contact with her were placed under medical observation. Anna Popova, head of the Russian health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, traveled to the Irkutsk region last week, and a special commission of experts was formed to address the case.
Kobzev stated that the quarantine, observation of the woman's contacts, and other measures were completed, and that approximately 5,000 laboratory tests conducted as part of those actions found no pathogens.
He added that the investigation was carried out amidst “pressure” from the media, describing it as “a challenge, but we handled it in a commendable way.”
Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead for epidemic and pandemic preparedness, stated on Wednesday that the UN agency does not know what caused the woman's death and requested more information from Russia. The WHO also alluded to press reports claiming a second employee had pneumonia of undetermined cause.
Rospotrebnadzor rejected reports about a second person who had allegedly fallen ill after coming into contact with the lab worker. It offered no new information regarding the worker's illness and death, nor the reasons behind the extensive emergency measures in the region.
Kobzev claimed that the epidemiological situation in the city of Irkutsk, where the anti-plague institute is located, the nearby town of Shelekhov, where the woman was hospitalized, and the adjacent areas is “calm”.
[Publicidad]