WHO Contacts Russia After 28-Year-Old Researcher Dies at Plague Institute
Updated
Updated · CNN · Oct 5
WHO Contacts Russia After 28-Year-Old Researcher Dies at Plague Institute
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Oct 5
Summary
WHO said Monday it is in contact with Russian health authorities after a 28-year-old researcher died of pneumonia of unknown origin at Irkutsk’s anti-plague institute in Siberia.
Several people are quarantined, and WHO said it is seeking details on what happened, what testing is underway and whether there are any international public-health implications.
Rospotrebnadzor has downplayed any link between the death and the researcher’s work, but the case has focused attention on pneumonic plague—the only form of plague that spreads person to person and can be nearly always fatal without treatment.
WHO said the risk to the general population appears low based on unofficial information, while U.S. health agencies are also monitoring the situation closely.