The infectious disease hospital in Shelekhov, Irkutsk region, where a laboratory worker who died of severe pneumonia symptoms was treated, is seen in this file photo. The World Health Organization said the public health risk from the incident at a Russian plague research laboratory remains low. [Reuters-Yonhap]
The infectious disease hospital in Shelekhov, Irkutsk region, where a laboratory worker who died of severe pneumonia symptoms was treated, is seen in this file photo. The World Health Organization said the public health risk from the incident at a Russian plague research laboratory remains low. [Reuters-Yonhap]

The World Health Organization said the public health risk from a pathogen leak at a Russian plague research laboratory is low, amid growing international concern over the incident.

WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier held a press briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday (local time) and said, based on information currently available, that "WHO's initial risk assessment indicates the risk in the Irkutsk region is moderate to low, across Russia it is low, and in the European region it is very low," according to AFP.

Lindmeier said a woman who had been working at the laboratory in Irkutsk had died, and that authorities were investigating whether pneumonic plague was the cause of death.

Concern over a potential plague outbreak emerged after a 28-year-old researcher identified as Darya Shipilova accidentally broke a test tube containing plague bacteria at a plague-prevention laboratory in Irkutsk, Russia, on Sept. 25. Shipilova was hospitalized with severe pneumonia symptoms on Sept. 29 and died on Friday.

Unlike other forms of plague, which spread through flea bites or contact with infected animals, pneumonic plague can be transmitted through respiratory droplets. It can be treated with antibiotics if caught early, but carries a high fatality rate if treatment is delayed — patients can die within days of onset.

About 200 people who had contact with the deceased researcher are currently in isolation at a hospital in Shelekhov, according to Russian media. Two COVID-19 cases and two rhinovirus cases have been identified among the contacts, but no plague infections have been confirmed.

Lindmeier said the official cause of the researcher's death had not been confirmed as of that day and that laboratory testing was ongoing. He also described the institute where she worked as one that "studied dangerous pathogens in the Siberian region, where infectious diseases occur naturally in wildlife."

He said Russian authorities had identified and were monitoring people who had contact with the woman, adding that "test results show that none of the contacts tested positive for dangerous infectious disease pathogens." He said WHO was "closely monitoring the situation and, in cooperation with headquarters, informing other countries," and that it stood ready to provide support if Russian authorities requested it.

Russia also said it had the situation under stable control. Rospotrebnadzor, Russia's federal health and consumer protection agency, said the sanitary and epidemiological situation in Irkutsk region was stable and that preventive measures for contacts were nearing completion.

Russia informed WHO on Tuesday (local time) that "medical monitoring of all contacts has now been completed based on currently available data, laboratory test results and health status," and that "not a single contact was found to carry dangerous infectious disease pathogens."


kate01@heraldcorp.com