The European Commission has responded to a suspected outbreak of pneumonic plague in Russia — Euronews

The European Commission is closely monitoring the situation surrounding the suspected outbreak of pneumonic plague in Siberia. If necessary, the European Commission is prepared to coordinate response measures among EU member states.

The European Commission emphasized that it is aware of reports “regarding an incident at a laboratory in Russia that appears to be linked to the plague pathogen.”

“Public health is always a priority for us, so we are in contact with our experts at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. We are monitoring the situation very closely,” the spokesperson emphasized.

The European Commission also emphasized that, following the COVID-19 pandemic, they are “much better prepared for any pandemics.” According to the spokesperson, countries have stockpiles of antibiotics.

The European Commission is using channels through the World Health Organization to obtain updated information from Russian authorities.

According to local Russian media reports, on September 25, 28-year-old Daria Shipilova, who worked at a research institute combating the plague in Russia’s Irkutsk region, accidentally broke a test tube containing the pathogen that causes pneumonic plague.

On September 29, she was hospitalized with symptoms of severe pneumonia, and she died on the night of October 1–2. Following her death, authorities imposed a quarantine at several medical facilities in the region and placed nearly 200 people who had been in contact with Shipilova under medical supervision.

Russian media speculated that Shipilova may have contracted pneumonic plague, but health authorities have not confirmed this diagnosis.

A European Commission spokesperson made this statement on Monday, October 5, as reported by Euronews.

The White House is monitoring a possible plague outbreak in Russia.

As a reminder, a plague outbreak has occurred in Russia, and there has already been a first fatality.

In Russia, nearly 200 people have been hospitalized after coming into contact with a woman who died of pneumonic plague.

Prior to this, the death of a woman from the plague was confirmed in Buryatia.