Laboratory employee's death in Russia: WHO finds no evidence of dangerous disease spread

Concerns arose following the death from pneumonia of an employee who worked at an anti-plague research center in Russia's Irkutsk region. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that no evidence of an ongoing spread of the disease related to the incident has been found. This was reported by Reuters.

According to reports, on October 2, 28-year-old laboratory employee Darya Shipilova died of pneumonia from unknown causes. Following this, Russian authorities placed nearly 200 people who had been in contact with her under quarantine.

The WHO stated that tests conducted on the deceased and the individuals who had been in contact with her yielded negative results for the dangerous pathogens tested. Furthermore, neither symptoms of the disease nor any other severe pneumonia cases related to this incident have been detected among those who were in contact with her.

The organization noted that the main uncertainty is the lack of a definitive diagnosis regarding the illness that caused the woman's death. Russian authorities, meanwhile, stated that she had received the necessary vaccinations and that no microorganisms related to her laboratory activities were found in her body.

On October 8, Russia announced the completion of medical examinations for the individuals who had been in contact with the deceased. For now, the WHO notes that there is no evidence confirming the spread of the plague in Russia.