Nearly 200 people have been placed under medical observation in Russia’s Irkutsk region following the death of an employee at an anti-plague research institute amid concerns over possible exposure to plague, according to media reports.
Authorities are monitoring 189 people who may have had contact with the researcher. Alexei Tsydenov, head of the neighbouring Republic of Buryatia, said the woman had died from an unspecified form of plague.
Russia’s public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, however, said on Sunday that the employee had been diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown etiology” and that further testing had not detected microorganisms associated with her work.
The agency said the sanitary and epidemiological situation remained stable in the Irkutsk region, including the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov.
Earlier local media reports said the 27-year-old researcher had developed symptoms of suspected pneumonic plague after returning from a work trip to Buryatia, where cases had reportedly been detected near Russia’s border with Mongolia.
Russian authorities have not publicly confirmed that plague was the definitive cause of the researcher’s death.
The White House is monitoring the reports, according to Axios, which cited a Trump administration official as saying US authorities were aware of the situation and assessing developments.
The World Health Organization and health authorities in Russia had not provided additional public confirmation of the suspected outbreak at the time of the reports.