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WHO asks Russia about second pneumonia report after lab death

WHO says it is seeking details about the first worker's severe pneumonia and media reports of a second employee with an illness of undetermined cause. Russia has reported no plague cases in Irkutsk, and WHO's initial risk assessment was very low for Europe.

By Wrivid News Desk
Researchers at the U.S. National Cancer Institute in an archival laboratory photograph. Contextual file photo; it does not depict the reported event.
Researchers at the U.S. National Cancer Institute in an archival laboratory photograph. Contextual file photo; it does not depict the reported event.File photo: Rhoda Baer (Photographer) (resized for web) · Public domain; see source photograph’s rights statement; resized without generative editing

Executive summary

  • Second illness is a media report: WHO says it has asked Russia to clarify reports of a second employee with pneumonia of undetermined cause. The agency has not confirmed that a second person is ill, and the reports do not establish a plague infection.[1][2][3]
  • First death remains unexplained publicly: A worker at an Irkutsk anti-plague research institute died after severe pneumonia, according to WHO. Russian authorities have described the illness as pneumonia of unknown cause and told WHO no plague had been registered in the region. WHO says it is seeking the pathogen and more detail about the investigation.[3][1][2]
  • WHO's initial regional risk assessment is low: WHO assessed the risk as moderate to low in Irkutsk, low across Russia and very low in the WHO European region, based on information available Oct. 6. Russia told WHO that tests found no dangerous infectious pathogens among the deceased worker's contacts; that does not establish what caused her illness.[3][4][1]

The World Health Organization says it has asked Russian authorities for information about media reports of a second employee with pneumonia of undetermined cause at or linked to an anti-plague research institute in Irkutsk. The WHO's request does not confirm that a second employee is ill. The reports reviewed do not establish that either illness was plague.[1][2]

The request adds a new question to an unresolved investigation after a laboratory worker died following severe pneumonia. WHO says it is seeking details about the cause, the pathogen that prompted public-health measures and the reports concerning a second employee. The agency has not announced a confirmed plague case.[1][3]

The worker died on Oct. 2 after hospitalization with severe pneumonia, WHO said. Russian health authorities described the illness as pneumonia of unknown etiology and told WHO that no plague case had recently been registered in Irkutsk. They also reported that testing found no dangerous infectious-disease pathogens among her contacts, according to the message WHO shared with AP.[3][1]

Those contact-test results do not identify what caused the worker's pneumonia. WHO said it was asking Russia for the pathogen involved and for details about the investigation. The agency also reported that contacts had been identified and monitored, and that none had shown symptoms as of its Oct. 6 briefing.[3][1]

WHO's initial assessment, based on information available Oct. 6, put the risk at moderate to low for Irkutsk, low for Russia as a whole and very low for the WHO European region. The agency said it would update the assessment as more information became available. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said there were no reports of secondary cases and no evidence of sustained person-to-person transmission that would cause further spread.[3][4]

Pneumonic plague is one possibility raised in media reports because the worker was employed at an institute that studies plague. Russian authorities have not publicly confirmed that diagnosis, and WHO says the cause of death remains unconfirmed. The reported second illness is also unverified; neither development establishes an outbreak.[3][1][4]