Russia’s health regulatory body dismissed claims on Thursday that a second individual had fallen ill following the death of a worker at a plague research facility in Siberia. The health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, confirmed that all necessary preventive measures had been taken for individuals who had contact with the deceased worker. The 28-year-old lab employee, Daria Shipilova, passed away from pneumonia of an unknown origin at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia. Russian authorities swiftly implemented precautionary measures following her death.
Rospotrebnadzor stated that Shipilova succumbed to an unidentified type of pneumonia and that no harmful pathogens were found in those who had been in contact with her. Officials mentioned that she had been vaccinated and was therefore protected against the dangerous infections she worked with.
The World Health Organization initially assessed the public risk in the Russia case as low but expressed the need for more information from the Russian authorities to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment. The WHO Director-General offered assistance to Russia and sought verification of reports regarding a second employee with pneumonia of unknown cause.
Health Canada and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that there was no current risk to their respective countries from the incident. The CDC mentioned its readiness to monitor and screen travelers from the affected region entering the U.S. A total of 200 individuals from Siberia travel to the United States annually, with direct flights between Russia and the U.S. suspended since the conflict in Ukraine in 2022.