Russia denies second Siberia illness case as WHO seeks details

Russia has denied reports that a second person became ill after contact with a 28-year-old employee of an anti-plague research institute in Siberia who died last week from pneumonia of undetermined cause.

Russia’s consumer health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said no illness had been detected among the worker’s contacts and no dangerous pathogens had been found. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said most media reporting about the situation was false and directed questions to the watchdog.

The woman worked at an institute in the Irkutsk region. Russian outlet People of Baikal reported that she died of plague, possibly after exposure involving a broken test tube, but Russian authorities have not confirmed that account and have described her illness as pneumonia. The cause of the infection and how she contracted it remain undetermined.

World Health Organization officials said they had asked Russia to clarify reports of another institute employee with pneumonia of unknown cause. WHO epidemic management director Maria Van Kerkhove said the agency did not know the causative agent and called for timely, regular information.

The European Union also requested transparent epidemiological and microbiological findings. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention described the risk to the United States as “extremely low,” while Mongolia said it had increased health surveillance at its border with Russia.

US President Donald Trump said the United States did not believe the infection involved a biological weapon and that discussions with Russia were continuing.