Russian authorities have downplayed information that a lab technician died of plague at a bacteriological institute in Siberia, saying that "the situation is under control" and that an autopsy showed no traces of the disease, Agence France-Presse reported.
The death of Daria Chipilova, a 28-year-old lab technician who worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, was reported by several Russian media outlets and caused serious concern.
According to the Russian media outlet "Peoples of Baikal" The woman contracted pneumonic plague from a broken test tube, but analyses conducted by an expert commission showed that the cause of death was "pneumonia of unknown etiology", announced the governor of the Irkutsk region, Igor Kobzev.
"The results of the investigation conducted by the public health agency "Rospotrebnadzor" showed that no traces of a microorganism related to her professional activities were detected in the young woman's biological materials," Kobzev said on Telegram.
"The health situation in the region is stable," the governor said, adding that no other employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute has visited a doctor since the announcement of the young woman's death.
For his part, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov today urged journalists "to refer to the official statements of "Rospotrebnadzor", not rumors or speculations".
"The main agency competent in this area is "Rospotrebnadzor" and it is its official statements that should be considered a guideline, and not various rumors and speculations. Highly qualified professionals work in "Rospotrebnadzor", let's listen to their official statements," Peskov emphasized, quoted by TASS.
"The United States is closely monitoring the case of the laboratory assistant who died of plague at an anti-plague institute in Siberia," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today, before leaving for a visit to Europe.
"I don't think this is a cause for concern, but the situation should be monitored. Travel between the United States and Russia is, of course, very limited, but like anything that comes out, it spreads quickly," Rubio added.
Plague is a contagious disease caused by bacteria, while pneumonic plague, on the other hand, is highly contagious and can be fatal if not treated promptly, according to the World Health Organization.
Plague is endemic to Siberia, where the first prehistoric epidemic of the disease among humans occurred, as the bacteria that causes it are found among small mammals in the vast natural areas of the region. However, it is rare for Russians to get sick with plague, although other parts of the world, such as Africa, have recorded cases of infection with the disease every year, Reuters notes.
Source: www.bta.bg