WHO Says No Sign of Plague Spread From Siberian Lab Leak, But Says Russia Is Holding Back Information

The World Health Organization said Tuesday it has found no evidence that plague is spreading beyond a single confirmed death tied to a suspected laboratory incident in Irkutsk, Russia, but Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made clear his agency’s assessment rests almost entirely on information supplied by Russian officials — information he suggested has been incomplete.

Tedros’ statement largely summarized what Moscow has told the WHO. In response to a verification request under the International Health Regulations, Russian health authorities reported that no new plague cases had been registered in Irkutsk oblast, that an epidemiological investigation had been carried out, and that preventive measures had been implemented. Identified contacts were tested and placed under medical observation, which Russia says has now concluded for all of them, with no high-threat pathogens detected.

The WHO said it remains in contact with Russian authorities and has offered technical support, but it has also asked for more details on the cause of a severe pneumonia case, the identity of the pathogen that triggered the public health response, and Russian media reports of a second employee suffering pneumonia of undetermined cause.

“Timely, complete, and transparent information sharing under the International Health Regulations” is essential to an accurate assessment of public health risks, Tedros said.

Russia winds down measures

Russia’s health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said Wednesday it is scaling back the precautionary measures it had imposed in Irkutsk after finding no additional plague infections beyond the original patient, 28-year-old lab worker Daria Shipilova, who worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East.

The agency said roughly 90 percent of the approximately 200 people quarantined after contact with Shipilova have now been released, and nearly five thousand laboratory tests turned up no further infections.

In a notably uneasy admission, Rospotrebnadzor said Shipilova had been vaccinated against all the pathogens handled at the institute and should have been “immune to the dangerous infections with which she worked.” She nonetheless fell severely ill and died in a public hospital last week.

Kremlin pushes back

Tedros said Wednesday the WHO had pressed Russian officials for more information about the reported second pneumonia case circulating in Russian media. The Kremlin dismissed the reporting outright. “The media reports a great deal,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that “the vast majority of what the media is reporting regarding this situation is false information” and that only official Rospotrebnadzor statements should be trusted.

Peskov also brushed aside remarks from President Donald Trump, who said Wednesday he was planning to call Russian President Vladimir Putin, “probably” Thursday, to discuss the Irkutsk situation. “So far, we are in very deep discussions,” Trump said. Peskov said no such call had been scheduled, and maintained that Russia’s reporting to the WHO fully complied with international standards.