WHO says Russia confirms death at research lab, no plague case registered
WHO said Russia confirmed the lab worker’s death and reported negative tests for high-risk pathogens after about 200 contacts were quarantined.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed "the vast majority" of media reports about the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute situation constitute "false information," warning of potential sanctions against outlets spreading such news.
- Reports published earlier this month alleged a worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute died of "pneumonic plague," triggering widespread public health countermeasures by regional officials.
- WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency cannot conduct a risk assessment without more details, while Irkutsk Gov. Igor Kobzev declared preventive measures completed Thursday.
- President Donald Trump stated "we don't think so" regarding whether a "bioweapon" caused the death, while officials placed nearly 200 contacts under medical observation.
- A State Department report last year noted Russia is "extensively modernizing Soviet-era biological warfare infrastructure," raising historical concerns about biological research in the region.
143 Articles
143 Articles
The opacity of Russian authorities feeds rumors among the population. Health inspects veterinary clinics for possible animal infection
It's been a week since the accident.
The fear is that the Kremlin has imposed silence to hide a program of biological weapons development in the lab in Siberia where the 28-year-old died.
Death of young worker at Russian lab studying serious diseases remains a mysteryThe World Health Organization (WHO) has said the cause of death of a young worker at a laboratory in Russia that studies plague and other serious diseases is still unknown. The United Nations health agency cited initial, yet unconfirmed, reports that the worker may have been infected with pneumonic plague. This is a severe form of the disease, less common than the bu…
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