The World Health Organization has urged Russian officials to provide more information about a mystery pneumonia strain suspected of killing a laboratory worker on October 2. In its first statement on the incident, the UN health agency admitted "uncertainty" about where the illness originated.
"Additional clinical, epidemiological and laboratory information, including confirmation of the diagnosis in the deceased laboratory worker, is required to improve confidence in the assessment," WHO said. The agency called on Russia to "actively engage" and pledged to continue its investigations.
WHO statement on diagnosis
WHO added: "Testing did not identify plague or other tested high-threat pathogens, and the death has been classified as pneumonia." The agency noted: "Given the absence of a confirmed diagnosis, WHO is not in a position to independently assess whether the duration of the reported monitoring period for contacts was sufficient to exclude all plausible causes of the fatal illness."
Last week, fears of a plague outbreak emerged from Russia after the mysterious death of a young scientist who worked at a facility specialising in deadly diseases. Darya Shipilova, 28, worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia before she fell seriously ill with severe pneumonia.
Lab worker's death and isolation measures
She died on October 2, with reports suggesting she may have accidentally broken a tube containing live plague bacteria. Fears that the disease may have escaped the lab were amplified when over 200 people who potentially came into contact with Shipilova were placed in isolation.
Some senior UK politicians claimed the outbreak may have been an attempt from Vladimir Putin to "weaponise a virus." Dr. Neil Shastri-Hurst, MP for Solihull West and Shirley, said the Russian plague could be a "threat to national security."
Political reaction in the UK
He said: "I was watching No Time To Die at the weekend, and a few years ago you might have thought it was a fanciful story – now it's a reality. There are a lot of hostile actors who want to cause us harm and they don't really care how they do. We've got to be aware of the weaponisation of disease and how they are a threat to our national security."
He added: "It's about having a ring of protection around our country. Once the disease gets past that – it is too late."
