THE WORLD HEALTH Organisation said it deemed the public health risk across Russia to be low, following reports that a laboratory technician had died of plague.

A worker at the anti-plague institute in Siberia’s Irkutsk region reportedly died of pneumonic plague, and news of the death sparked international alarm.

“A woman who worked at a laboratory in Irkutsk oblast has died, and the authorities are looking into whether pneumonic plague caused her death,” WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said.

“To date, no cause of death has been officially confirmed, and laboratory testing is reportedly under way,” he told a press briefing.

The technician named as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova worked at an institute that studies dangerous pathogens, including plague, in a part of Siberia where plague occurs naturally in wild animals, the spokesman said.

Russian authorities were looking into whether pneumonic plague caused her death, he said.

“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.”

Lindmeier said Russian authorities had identified the people she was in contact with and were monitoring them.

He said the WHO was in touch with the Russian health authorities to verify the event and the laboratory tests.

The UN health agency saw the reports on Friday and began monitoring the situation.

The WHO brought in technical experts at its European regional office in Copenhagen and at its global headquarters in Geneva, including specialists in high-threat pathogens.

“WHO is following the situation closely,” and stands ready to support the Russian authorities if they ask, the spokesman said.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) also said it was monitoring the situation in Siberia. 

“Pneumonic plague is a serious infectious disease that is transmitted through cough droplets,” it said in a note today.

“However, there has not been a case of plague in the EU for decades, and the disease can be effectively treated with antibiotics readily available in the European Union. Transmission also generally requires close and prolonged contact with an infected person who is already showing symptoms.”

‘Community-acquired pneumonia’ 

On Saturday, the WHO contacted the Russian authorities to get more information, under the International Health Regulations.

The IHR provides a legally binding framework defining countries’ rights and obligations in handling public health events and emergencies that could cross borders, and countries are asked to respond within 24 hours.

Russia got back to the WHO on Tuesday.

“In response to the inquiry regarding a suspected case of plague…no case of this dangerous disease has been recorded in the city of Irkutsk,” said the update from Russia to the WHO.

“An epidemiological investigation was conducted following the detection of a case of community-acquired pneumonia — which had presented as a typical acute respiratory viral infection — in an employee of the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute,” it said.

The update said preventative measures had been conducted in accordance with Russia’s health laws, with contacts identified, and arrangements made for medical monitoring and laboratory testing.

“Test results showed no presence of dangerous infectious disease pathogens in any of the contacts,” the update said.

“Based on the available data, laboratory test results and health status, medical monitoring for 100 percent of the contacts has now been concluded. The epidemiological situation is stable and remains under monitoring.”