US requests data from Russia on laboratory employee’s death — The Hill
The United States sent the government of the Russian Federation — an aggressor state — an official diplomatic request for additional information about the death of an employee of an anti-plague research institute in Siberia’s Irkutsk region. The request also concerns reports of quarantine measures following her death, The Hill reports.
United States demarche
The US administration’s request was issued as a demarche — an official diplomatic communication through which a state may express its position, protest, or objection regarding another country’s actions. A State Department spokesperson confirmed that Washington had officially asked the Russian side to provide additional information and is maintaining contacts with other countries to exchange information.
The American side also reminded Russia of its obligation to provide timely and complete data on dangerous infectious threats in accordance with the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the available information does not warrant alarm, but the situation must be monitored.
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Circumstances of the death and the WHO’s position
According to The Moscow Times, cited by The Hill, an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East was hospitalized with symptoms of severe pneumonia and later died. Rospotrebnadzor said she had been diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown etiology.
According to the outlet, nearly 200 people who may have had contact with the deceased were placed under medical observation. Rospotrebnadzor stated that laboratory analysis of the patient’s samples found no microorganisms linked to her work with dangerous pathogens.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization is examining the circumstances of the death of a person hospitalized with severe pneumonia in the Irkutsk region. According to him, early media reports suggested pneumonic plague following a possible accidental laboratory exposure. At the same time, Russian health authorities, in response to a WHO inquiry, said that no plague cases had recently been recorded in the region. The WHO said the risk to the public appears low.
