WHO Assesses Public Health Risk as Low Following Death of Researcher at Russian Plague Institute

WHO Spokesman Announces Preliminary Risk Assessment

The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the risk to public health from the recent pathogen leak at the plague research institute in Irkutsk, Russia—which resulted in the death of one researcher—is assessed as low.

According to AFP on the 6th (local time), Christian Lindmeier, WHO spokesman, announced at a press briefing held in Geneva, Switzerland, that "based on the information available to date, the WHO's preliminary risk assessment indicates the risk in the Irkutsk region is moderate to low, the risk across Russia is low, and the risk in the European region is very low."

On the 5th (local time), the exterior view of the Infectious Disease Hospital 'Medical Support and Rescue Center' located in Shelekhov village, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News.

Previously, when Ebola outbreaks were declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda on May 15, the WHO declared a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ two days later, on May 17. One week later, regarding the risks of Ebola, the WHO reported that they were "very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at the global level."

Spokesman Lindmeier said, "A female laboratory worker in Irkutsk has died, and authorities are investigating whether pneumonic plague was the cause of death." He added that as of this day, the cause of death had not been officially confirmed and that laboratory testing was ongoing. Additionally, he explained that the institute where the woman worked "studied dangerous pathogens in Siberia, a region where infectious diseases naturally occur in wildlife."

Lindmeier also noted that Russian authorities have identified and are monitoring individuals who came into contact with the deceased woman, and that "based on the test results, none of the contacts have tested positive for any dangerous infectious disease pathogens."

He continued, "The WHO is closely monitoring the situation and is collaborating with headquarters to inform other countries," adding that "we are prepared to provide support should Russian authorities request it."

The previous day, Lindmeier told Russia's TASS news agency that "the WHO is in contact with Russian health authorities to clarify the circumstances of this incident, ongoing experiments and their results, the health status of contacts, and the potential impact."

This incident occurred on September 25 at the Irkutsk Plague Research Institute in Russia, when a 28-year-old female researcher identified as Dariya Sipyilova broke a test tube containing the plague pathogen. Sipyilova was hospitalized on September 29 with severe pneumonia symptoms and passed away during the night between October 1 and 2.

However, as of now, no other cases of plague or other infectious diseases have been confirmed. According to AFP, Russia reported to the WHO that "based on currently available data, laboratory test results, and the fact that medical monitoring of all contacts has now concluded, there have been no cases of dangerous infectious disease pathogens found among the contacts." Russian authorities have stated that "the epidemiological situation is stable" and that continued monitoring is underway.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.