Russia says no epidemic risk as WHO pushes for transparency on plague lab death

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Russia’s health watchdog said Wednesday there is no risk of an epidemic following the death of a laboratory worker at an anti-plague research institute in Siberia, even as the World Health Organization (WHO) made a plea for more information about the concerning episode.

In a statement Wednesday, Rospotrebnadzor said it is winding down a set of preventative measures in Russia’s Irkutsk region where the laboratory is located. Medical monitoring has been completed for “over 90%” of contacts of the deceased worker, and no dangerous pathogens have been found, it added.

The death of the lab technician, who worked at the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia in Russia’s southeast, has sparked international concern and speculation in recent days about the cause of her illness.

Russian authorities sought to alleviate those worries on Wednesday, with the country’s watchdog saying, “As of October 7, 2026, medical monitoring has been completed for over 90% of contacts. No health issues related to infectious disease were detected, and the results of nearly 5,000 laboratory tests revealed no dangerous pathogenic microorganisms.”

But despite the positive statement from Russian authorities, global health experts are still urging caution, and asking for more transparency from Moscow.

WHO chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that a “full risk assessment” has not been possible following the death of the Russian worker, adding that “timely, complete and transparent information sharing under the international regulations is essential to clarify conflicting reports and enable an accurate assessment of potential public health risks.”

WHO’s experts also updated their early evaluation that the lab worker’s death posed “low” risk to public health, saying that because she may not have died of pneumonic plague — a bacterial infection that can be transmitted from person to person, but doesn’t spread easily — the risk from the event was now undetermined.

Meanwhile, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, director of the WHO’s department of epidemic and pandemic management, said the organization had reached out to colleagues in Russia’s Ministry of Health and expected “further answers.”

“So we do reach out to them to ask very detailed questions about what tests were done, the results of those laboratory tests,” she said. “What further analysis is being done if the cause is not yet known, what contacts were put under quarantine or under follow up.”

“What we have been told is that they had no case of plague registered in this area, and that no high-threat pathogens were detected,” Van Kerkhove said. “So clearly, we would like more information to understand which laboratory tests were conducted, which pathogens were evaluated, and if this individual didn’t die from plague, then how did she die?”

The Trump administration is also struggling to get clear answers about the incident from Moscow. The United States has escalated its request for information, issuing a formal diplomatic communication, called a démarche, a source familiar told CNN late Tuesday.

“We have officially requested additional information from the Russian government,” a State Department spokesperson said. “We are also in official communication with other countries around the world to share information.”

“It’s incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday . “Maybe it’s bigger than we thought. We don’t know, but I think it would be reckless at this moment, given the limited information we still have, to speculate.”

伊戈尔·伊万科/法新社/盖蒂图片社

俄罗斯卫生监管机构周三表示，西伯利亚一家抗鼠疫研究所的一名实验室工作人员死亡后，不存在爆发疫情的风险，尽管世界卫生组织（世卫组织）呼吁提供更多关于这起令人担忧的事件的信息。

俄罗斯联邦消费者权益保护和福利监督局（Rospotrebnadzor）周三发表声明称，正在逐步解除在伊尔库茨克州（该实验室所在地）实施的一系列预防措施。声明还补充说，已完成对死者“90%以上”密切接触者的医学监测，未发现任何危险病原体。

这位在俄罗斯东南部西伯利亚伊尔库茨克抗疫研究所工作的实验室技术员的死亡，近日引发了国际社会的关注和对其死因的猜测。

俄罗斯当局周三试图消除这些担忧，该国监管机构表示：“截至2026年10月7日，已完成对90%以上接触者的医学监测。未发现与传染病相关的健康问题，近5000项实验室检测结果显示未发现危险的致病微生物。”

尽管俄罗斯当局发表了积极声明，但全球卫生专家仍然敦促各方保持谨慎，并要求莫斯科方面提高透明度。

世界卫生组织总干事谭德塞博士周三表示，在俄罗斯工人死亡后，无法进行“全面的风险评估”。他补充说，“根据国际法规及时、完整和透明地共享信息对于澄清相互矛盾的报道以及准确评估潜在的公共卫生风险至关重要。”

世界卫生组织专家还更新了他们早期的评估，认为这名实验室工作人员的死亡对公众健康构成“低”风险。专家表示，由于她可能并非死于肺鼠疫（一种可以在人与人之间传播但不易扩散的细菌感染），因此该事件的风险现在尚不确定。

与此同时，世界卫生组织流行病和大流行病管理部门主任玛丽亚·范·科霍夫博士表示，该组织已与俄罗斯卫生部的同事联系，并期待得到“进一步的答复”。

“所以我们会联系他们，询问非常详细的问题，比如做了哪些检测，实验室检测结果如何，”她说。“如果病因尚不清楚，正在进行哪些进一步分析，哪些密切接触者被隔离或接受追踪调查。”

范克尔克霍夫说：“我们得到的消息是，该地区没有登记在案的鼠疫病例，也没有检测到高危病原体。所以很显然，我们希望了解更多信息，比如进行了哪些实验室检测，评估了哪些病原体，如果这个人不是死于鼠疫，那么她究竟是怎么死的？”

特朗普政府也正努力从莫斯科方面获得有关此次事件的明确答复。一位知情人士周二晚间告诉CNN，美国已加大了对莫斯科信息的询问力度，并发出了一份正式的外交照会，即所谓的“外交照会”。

美国国务院发言人表示：“我们已正式要求俄罗斯政府提供更多信息。我们也在与世界其他国家进行正式沟通，以分享信息。”

“俄罗斯显然有义务与世界分享更多信息，”国务卿马可·卢比奥周二表示。“也许情况比我们想象的要严重。我们不知道，但鉴于我们目前掌握的信息有限，我认为现在妄加猜测是鲁莽的。”