Afət Ziyadqızı
According to The Wall Street Journal, the US administration has asked Moscow for detailed information about the death of a laboratory worker in Russia’s Irkutsk region, who died amid suspicion of a dangerous infection. Washington has warned that withholding information could violate Russia’s international public health obligations.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia had provided very limited information on the matter, raising concerns about the risk of an infectious disease spreading beyond its borders. A US State Department representative said Washington had also contacted other partner countries.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also stressed the importance of an honest and transparent exchange of information. “Information remains limited for now. It would be irresponsible to speculate without accurate facts. Russia should share more information with the international community and demonstrate transparency,” he said.
Irkutsk region Governor Igor Kobzev convened an emergency anti-epidemic commission meeting on Oct. 2 after a resident was suspected of having a “particularly dangerous infection.” Claims circulated on social media that an employee of the local Plague Control Institute had died of “pneumonic plague.” However, Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) said the specialist had been diagnosed with pneumonia of undetermined cause and that preventive sanitary measures had been taken.
