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Armenia may check the temperatures of people arriving in the country. Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan said in remarks to parliament on Wednesday that such a measure was possible after a laboratory worker in Russia died amid suspicions of pneumonic plague, the Armenian state news agency Armenpress reported.
Avanesyan said Armenia’s Health Ministry was monitoring information about the possible spread of a severe respiratory infection in Russia. She said the authorities were taking the matter seriously and coordinating their response.
She added that Armenian health agencies had begun precautionary measures after reports of the death in Russia emerged.
WHO seeks further information from Russia
The World Health Organization (WHO) has requested more detailed information from Russia about the death of a 28-year-old employee at a plague research laboratory in Siberia.
Unconfirmed media reports have alleged that the woman became ill after breaking a test tube containing a pathogen.
Pneumonic plague is a severe lung infection that can spread directly between people. The WHO initially said, based on information made public, that the incident in Russia posed a low risk to the public. On Wednesday, however, it said it had not received enough information from Russian officials to make a fuller risk assessment.
Maria Van Kerkhove, director of the WHO’s department for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, said at a virtual news conference that the organization needed more information about what tests were being conducted at the laboratory, which pathogens were being examined and, if the woman had not died of plague, what had caused her death.
Russia urges caution over speculation
Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s consumer rights and human welfare watchdog, said on Wednesday that it was gradually ending precautionary measures after concluding there was no threat of an outbreak. The agency also said it had provided the WHO with the latest information.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged caution over speculation surrounding the case. Asked about reports that another person in Siberia had fallen ill, he said it was not appropriate to assess developments on the basis of media reports. Peskov described most of the coverage on the subject as misinformation.
Before Armenia’s announcement, the Mongolian government said it had introduced “health monitoring” measures at its border with Russia. Lithuania’s Health Ministry also said it had begun preparations for possible cases in the country.
Erica Schwartz, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Wednesday that the agency was prepared to monitor and screen travelers. The risk to the United States, she said, remained extremely low.
