Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov has told people to ignore "plague" rumours as authorities played down speculation of an outbreak of a plague-like virus leading to the death of an employee at an institute. Russian authorities have since reportedly quarantined a hospital after the woman worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East in Irkutsk, south-eastern Siberia.
The woman has been named as 28-year-old lab technician Darya Shipilova. There were also reports of almost 200 being hospitalised, but officials have played down this report.
No evidence of pathogen link
Russian authorities said they found no evidence that her illness was caused by any of the pathogens she worked with. However, the case has raised alarm after unconfirmed media reports suggested she might have died of pneumonic plague.
A senior Russian figure has now played down reports and told Russians that they should only listen to "highly qualified professionals" at Rospotrebnadzor, the national public health agency of the Russian Federation.
Peskov urges trust in officials
As reported by Russian publication Tvzvezda, Peskov said: "We should rely on official statements from Rospotrebnadzor, without listening to various rumours and speculation." He went on to call Rospotrebnadzor the department that employs "highly qualified professionals" and urged the public to take notice of their statements.
A Rospotrebnadzor investigation, released yesterday, reported that no emergency situations involving pathogenic microorganisms had been identified at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East.
Officials respond to case
Anna Popova, head of Russia's public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, flew to Irkutsk and met governor Igor Kobzev and other officials on Friday. Mr Kobzev said everyone who came into contact with the woman is under medical supervision. He did not identify the infection and called it a suspected case of "a particularly dangerous infection". Rospotrebnadzor was implementing "a full range of anti-epidemic measures", he added.
Rospotrebnadzor said on Sunday the woman was diagnosed with "pneumonia of unknown etiology", and said "extensive" testing found "no micro-organisms associated with the patient's professional activities". The agency also said it did not uncover any incidents at the institute "involving pathogenic micro-organisms".
Two people who were in contact with the woman tested positive for a virus that causes a common cold and two others for Covid-19, the agency said, adding that others who were tested were all negative.
