Russian authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday that there are no cases of plague in the city of Irkutsk, Siberia, according to a spokesperson for the UN health agency. The press reported that an employee of a laboratory at the Institute for Plague Control died last week.
Moscow, which is obliged under international health laws to respond to the WHO’s request within 24 hours, had previously informed the WHO that the authorities are investigating whether the death was caused by the pneumonic plague.
“No cases of this dangerous disease have been recorded in the city of Irkutsk, Russian Federation”, Russian authorities said in an official response to the WHO request, read aloud by WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier, at a press conference in Geneva, reports Agerpres.
The Russian authorities have also informed the UN agency that they have identified the individuals who were in contact with the deceased, and that the test results for dangerous pathogens were negative.