Cause of death in Russian pneumonia case still unknown, World Health Organization says

The World Health Organization said on Saturday it still cannot independently confirm what caused the recent death of a 28-year-old Russian woman who worked at a lab studying plague and other diseases.Darya Shipilova’s Oct. 2 death prompted the quarantine and medical observation of nearly 200 Russian citizens two days after she was hospitalized while working at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia. The initial laboratory results of “all identified contact persons” were negative, and none showed signs of illness, according to Rospotrebnadzor, the nation’s public health regulator. An initial, unconfirmed report claimed Shipilova became sick after accidentally breaking a vial in the laboratory.The Moscow Times said initially that “media reports have described the suspected infection as pneumonic plague,” while global worries about such an outbreak circulated on social media. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened global health leaders’ concerns about laboratory leaks since the virus first emerged in Wuhan, China, in 2020 and spread worldwide. WHO officials said on Wednesday they were pressing Moscow for more details on the incident before publishing Saturday’s lengthy statement, which outlined its risk assessment profile and communications with Russian authorities to date. “Based on the information provided by NFP, WHO has not identified evidence of ongoing transmission associated with this event,” the statement said. “A key uncertainty remains the absence of a confirmed diagnosis in the deceased laboratory worker.”“According to the information provided by the national authorities, testing did not identify plague or other tested high-threat pathogens, and the death has been classified as pneumonia of an undetermined etiology,” it also said. “Given the absence of a confirmed diagnosis, WHO is not in a position to independently assess whether the duration of the reported monitoring period for contacts was sufficient to exclude all plausible causes of the fatal illness.” WHO also noted, “a laboratory-associated exposure therefore cannot be fully excluded at this stage.”RUSSIA DENIES ANOTHER PLAGUE CASE AS WHO PRESSES FOR MORE INFORMATIONPneumonic plague, widely regarded as the most virulent form of plague, can spread from person to person via respiratory droplets. Outbreaks have largely been subdued since the 1990s, when thousands died in China’s Manchurian Plague.Rospotrebnadzor denied rumors later in the week that a second person in the country was infected with the plague. United States authorities have requested more information from Moscow but have otherwise said the incident doesn’t pose a threat to American citizens.