The United Nations health agency has asserted that the Russian government must provide greater transparency regarding a reported plague incident at a research facility, following emerging reports of a second potential case. Despite mounting international concern, Russian authorities have downplayed the situation, insisting that the general population faces no risk whatsoever.
The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that it remains unable to fully evaluate the circumstances surrounding the suspected plague-related death of a laboratory employee in Siberia. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remarked that international health experts still lack a comprehensive picture of the event, preventing them from conducting a thorough and reliable risk assessment.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the reports as unverified information, urging the public to rely solely on official statements issued by Russian authorities. Peskov also claimed to have no knowledge regarding an alleged upcoming phone call between US figures and Russian leadership, despite public announcements from Washington suggesting such a discussion was scheduled.
The US regime reportedly submitted a formal diplomatic request to Moscow demanding comprehensive details concerning the outbreak. US figures noted that the technician's death did not appear tied to biological weapons development, citing Russian assurances that the situation was supposedly under strict control within the high-security facility.
The crisis initially unfolded when a 28-year-old female technician at a plague research institute in the Irkutsk region tragically died after purportedly contracting the disease from a broken test tube. In addition to the initial fatality, the WHO chief emphasized the urgent need for Moscow to clarify reports concerning a second employee suffering from pneumonia of undetermined origin at the same institute, even as Russian health agencies maintain that epidemiological monitoring has revealed no emergencies or pathogenic threats.
Source: www.dw.com