WHO has not determined cause of pneumonia in Russian laboratory worker — Channel NewsAsia

The World Health Organization said it has not determined the cause of the pneumonia from which an employee of an anti-plague research center in Irkutsk, Russia, an aggressor state, died. WHO also reported that no cases of plague had been registered.

Inspection results

As Channel NewsAsia reports, the Russian state regulator of the aggressor state informed WHO that tests of the deceased employee and people who had contact with her were negative for the dangerous pathogens for which they were tested. The contacts had no symptoms, and no new related cases of severe pneumonia were identified.

WHO noted that, based on the information received, it sees no evidence of further transmission of infection related to this case. At the same time, the key uncertainty remains the absence of a confirmed diagnosis in the deceased laboratory employee.

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Checks of contacts

The employee fell ill and died on October 2 under circumstances that have not been disclosed. After that, Russian authorities isolated about 200 people, prompting public health concerns on social media.

The Russian side stated that the employee had been properly vaccinated and that no microorganisms related to her work were found in her body. On Thursday, Russia reported the completion of medical checks of all contacts and the transfer of complete information to WHO in accordance with established procedures.