W.H.O. Says It Asked Russia for Plague Incident Info, No Response Yet

A spokesperson for the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) reportedly stated on Tuesday that the global agency had reached out to authorities in Russia for more information on a suspected case of deadly pneumatic plague tied to biological laboratory research in Siberia, but is still awaiting a formal response.

Siberian officials confirmed on Sunday that a woman, later identified as 28-year-old laboratory researcher Darya Shipilova, had died in Irkutsk, apparently of a severe respiratory infection. The precise nature of the pathogen causing the infection remains unclear at press time, described in Russian media as a “pneumonia of unknown etiology.

Shipilova worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute and some reports have claimed that she may have broken a vial carrying live bacteria during her work there shortly before her death. Other reports have alleged that she may have been exposed to the pathogen during a work trip, rather than inside the lab. The Russian government has neither confirmed nor denied either report.

The Russian government has offered only limited updates on the situation, however, insisting that the situation is under control and it is responsibly tracing all contacts with the suspected patient zero.

Reports on Monday indicated that Russian authorities had identified 200 people who came into contact with Shipilova and have placed them under monitoring. Some Russian outlets have also reported that local health workers are taking extra precautions to screen patients for pneumatic plague symptoms. At least one maternity hospital in Irkutsk, for example, has reportedly started screening pregnant women for signs of plague exposure, including sharing a “checklist for suspected plague” with patients. One patient reportedly told a local news outlet that her maternity clinic was no longer letting in people who were not pregnant patients and engaging in temperature screenings.

Multiple media outlets, both Russian and international, shared comments from W.H.O. spokesman Christian Lindmeier indicating that the agency is seeking to help ensure the situation remains contained. According to Reuters, Lindmeier said on Tuesday that the W.H.O. had reached out to Russian authorities but that they “had yet to officially respond to a WHO request for information about the death of the lab worker.”

“All ⁠of ​the patient’s contacts have been reportedly identified and are ​being monitored for illness, and none to date have shown symptoms of illness,” Lindmeier reportedly said.

The Russian news agency Tass reported on Tuesday that Lindmeier said the W.H.O. was “in contact” with the Russian government, omitting that he had reportedly said the Russian government had not contacted the W.H.O. back.

“WHO is in contact with the Russian health authorities to verify the event, its circumstances, the laboratory tests underway, and their results, the rationale for contact-tracing and the health status of contacts, as well as any potential international public health implication,” Tass quoted the spokesman as saying.

Lindmeier reportedly told reporters in comments elsewhere on Tuesday that the W.H.O. nonetheless considers international public health risks related to the situation to be low and clarified that Siberia is home to a pneumatic bacteria that is endemic to the area, an apparent response to speculation that the disease that killed Shipilova was genetically altered in the laboratory.

“The WHO initial risk assessment from the information available estimates the risk to be moderate to low for Irkutsk, a low risk for the Russian Federation as a whole, and very low for the WHO European region,” the spokesman was quoted as saying.

Lindmeier also reportedly described the symptoms that Shipilova presented as “a typical acute respiratory viral infection” and that Russian officials were “looking into whether pneumonic plague caused her death.”

The Russian government, through various spokespersons, has repeatedly insisted that interested parties outside the country only follow announcements from Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian government’s public health watchdog.

Rospotrebnadzor insisted on Sunday, when news of the incident at the Irkutsk lab was first reported publicly, that the situation in the region was “stable” and that Shipilova did not test positive for infection by any pathogens being studied in the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute. It also claimed that some of Shipilova’s contacts tested positive for respiratory diseases, but known ones such as Wuhan coronavirus and rhinovirus.

The Russian government’s insistence that the situation is under control has not limited international commentary on a potential outbreak resulting from a laboratory leak. In the United States, President Donald Trump commented on the incident on Monday, suggesting that he was concerned by reports on the incident.

“That’s a disease we used to be able to control,” Trump said. “Somehow those microbes have gotten stronger and stronger, they’re like an army.”

The president added that the United States would offer whatever help necessary to Russia in containing the disease if, in fact, an outbreak is identified. Rospotrebnadzor responded to President Trump’s offer to help by reciprocating Russian aid in containing measles, claiming that the United States is fighting a measles outbreak.

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