Russia Finds 0 Plague Cases After 28-Year-Old Siberian Lab Worker's Death
Updated
Updated · Honolulu Star-Advertiser · Oct 6
Russia Finds 0 Plague Cases After 28-Year-Old Siberian Lab Worker's Death
3 articles · Updated · Honolulu Star-Advertiser · Oct 6
Summary
Russia’s health watchdog said extensive testing found no plague or other work-linked pathogens in a 28-year-old Siberian lab worker who died Friday, and no infectious disease cases among her contacts tied to the incident.
10 days of monitoring at the Irkutsk plague institute also found no infectious diseases among staff; daily tests on contacts instead identified two COVID-19 cases and two rhinovirus infections.
Around 200 people were previously quarantined, local media said, and Shelekhov officials said 60% had already been released after the feared “dangerous diagnosis” was not confirmed.
The death, officially attributed to pneumonia of still-unestablished origin, had drawn international concern: Trump called it a “big problem,” Rubio urged Moscow to share more information, and the WHO said Russia reported no plague cases in Irkutsk.
In Shelekhov, residents told Reuters life was barely disrupted—mask use faded within a day and the local hospital has resumed normal diagnostic work.