Developing
WHO says risk low as US presses Russia for transparency on plague lab death
Version 3: U.S. officials escalated their calls for Russian transparency, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio appealing from Reykjavik for Moscow to share more information, while the WHO issued a formal risk assessment on Tuesday rating the risk low for Russia and very low for Europe and saying all contacts had been identified with no plague symptoms.
In short
The U.S. State Department is monitoring reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly called on Moscow to be more transparent about the death of a 28-year-old worker at the Irkutsk anti-plague institute. Russian authorities have not confirmed that pneumonic plague caused the death, and officials say tests found no microorganisms related to her work. The World Health Organization said Tuesday the risk was moderate to low for Irkutsk, low for Russia as a whole and very low for Europe, and that there is no indication this resembles a pandemic.
Why it matters
The case has drawn international attention because the worker was employed at a facility that handles dangerous pathogens and because pneumonic plague can pass between people. U.S. agencies and the WHO are monitoring, and the WHO has issued a formal risk assessment while saying testing is still under way. Russian regional officials have publicly disputed any link to the laboratory work, so the cause of death remains unresolved and U.S. officials continue to press for information.
Key facts
- The U.S. State Department said it is aware of reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, and is monitoring the situation with the CDC and other federal agencies. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
- U.S. officials urged Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly, and Rubio repeated the call for transparency on Tuesday from Reykjavik. [ 1 , 2 , 9 , 12 , 13 ]
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the reported death was “cause for focus” but not alarm, and warned that if an infection “gets out” it could quickly spread. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The worker was a 28-year-old employee of the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East, and Russian authorities have not confirmed that pneumonic plague caused her death. [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 9 ]
- Irkutsk regional governor Igor Kobzev said she died of “pneumonia of undetermined” origin and that tests found no microorganisms related to her professional activities; Rospotrebnadzor said it found no signs of accidents involving pathogens at the institute. [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 9 ]
- People who had contact with the worker have been quarantined or placed under medical observation; The Hill reported 200 people under medical observation, while TIME said dozens and CNN said several others. [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 9 ]
- The WHO said Tuesday its initial risk assessment was moderate to low for Irkutsk, low for Russia as a whole and very low for the WHO European region, and that there is no indication the situation resembles a pandemic. [ 6 , 9 , 10 , 16 ]
- Pneumonic plague affects the lungs, is the only form of plague that spreads directly from person to person, and is almost always fatal if not treated early with antibiotics. [ 1 , 4 , 6 , 10 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The U.S. State Department is aware of reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, and is monitoring the situation closely with the CDC and other federal agencies. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
- U.S. officials urged Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly about the case, and Rubio renewed the call for transparency on Tuesday. [ 1 , 2 , 9 , 12 ]
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the reported death was “cause for focus” but not alarm and said an infection could “quickly spread” if it gets out. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Russian authorities have not confirmed that pneumonic plague caused the worker's death. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 9 ]
- The worker was a 28-year-old employee of the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East who was hospitalized with severe pneumonia symptoms and died. [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 9 ]
- Russian officials, including Irkutsk regional governor Igor Kobzev and the public health body Rospotrebnadzor, said testing found no microorganisms related to the worker's professional activities and no signs of accidents involving pathogens at the institute. [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 9 ]
- People who had contact with the worker have been quarantined or placed under medical observation. [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 9 ]
- The World Health Organization said the risk outside Russia is low or very low, and that there is no indication the situation resembles a pandemic. [ 6 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 14 , 16 ]
- Pneumonic plague affects the lungs, can spread from person to person through respiratory particles, and is almost always fatal if not treated early with antibiotics. [ 1 , 4 , 6 , 10 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the worker died of pneumonic plague. Russian authorities have not confirmed the cause; the reported diagnosis of “pneumonia of unknown etiology” is attributed to Russia's public health watchdog by The Moscow Times, while the regional governor described “pneumonia of undetermined” origin.
- How the worker may have been exposed. TIME reported a local news source claimed exposure through a broken test tube while local authorities said there was no evidence to support this; The Hill reported she reportedly broke a test tube containing pneumonic plague pathogens. The accounts conflict.
- How many people are under quarantine or medical observation. The Hill said 200 people are under medical observation, TIME said dozens of contacts are quarantined, CNN said several others are quarantined, and the WHO said all contacts had been identified and none had symptoms; the documents do not reconcile the figures.
- Whether the hospital's inpatient department was closed and the hospital quarantined. The New York Post said the death prompted a quarantine of the hospital, and local media reported the inpatient department at the Shelekhov hospital was closed over a suspected “particularly dangerous infection,” a report TIME said public officials have not confirmed.
- Whether the illness spread to other people. Rubio said there was concern it could have spread at least internally, but no document reports confirmed secondary cases.
- The worker's identity. Local media named her as Daria or Darya Shipilova, per the New York Post and TIME; other documents refer only to an employee of the institute.
- The exact date of death. CBS News said she died on Oct. 1 or 2, Newsweek said she died Thursday after being hospitalized the previous Tuesday, and TIME said only that she died last week.
What local media are saying
Business mediaAll 16 documents come from U.S. outlets typed as business, and they framed the story around the U.S. government response and public-health explanation: State Department and CDC monitoring, Marco Rubio's remarks in Washington and Reykjavik, and the World Health Organization's risk assessment. Most repeated that Russian authorities have not confirmed pneumonic plague and that details remain unconfirmed, and several carried Russian official statements disputing a link to the laboratory work. Several outlets added sidebars explaining pneumonic plague, its transmission and its treatment.
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Timeline, local time
- Fox News reports that the State Department is monitoring a suspected fatal pneumonic plague case in Irkutsk Oblast and is urging Moscow to share accurate information quickly. [ 1 ]
- The New York Post reports Rubio's remarks calling the reported death “cause for focus” but not alarm. [ 2 ]
- Newsweek reports Rubio's warning that an infection could “quickly spread” if it gets out. [ 3 ]
- The Hill reports that a Russian scientist has died and 200 people are under medical observation amid a suspected pneumonic plague outbreak. [ 4 ]
- TIME reports that dozens of people are quarantined and that Irkutsk governor Igor Kobzev said the worker died of “pneumonia of undetermined” origin and that tests found no microorganisms related to her work. [ 5 ]
- CNN reports that the WHO is in contact with Russian health authorities and that the public health risk to the general population appears low based on unofficial information. [ 6 ]
- CBS News reports that Rubio, arriving in Reykjavik, called on Russia to be “transparent,” and that the WHO rated the risk moderate to low for Irkutsk, low for Russia and very low for Europe. [ 9 ]
- The Associated Press reports that the WHO says a possible case of pneumonic plague in Russia presents “very low” risk outside the country. [ 10 ]
- NBC News reports that U.S. health officials are calling on Russia to release more information about the death. [ 13 ]