Kremlin Denies Second Siberia Plague Report as WHO Demands Transparency

Russia has strongly dismissed recent media reports claiming there is a second suspected case of pneumonic plague in Siberia. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has urged Moscow to formally respond to ongoing inquiries regarding these allegations.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov addressed reporters on Wednesday, stating that "the vast majority of what the media is reporting regarding this situation is false information." He emphasized that official updates should come directly from Russia’s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor. The regulator previously reported that no infections were found among staff after a plague institute worker died from an undiagnosed case of pneumonia.

Global concern was sparked after a 28-year-old woman employed at a plague research institute in Siberia’s Irkutsk died following a diagnosis of "pneumonia of unknown aetiology." Consequently, the United States, the European Union, and the WHO have called for greater transparency from Russia.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged Moscow to clarify media reports concerning a potential second employee affected by pneumonia of an undetermined cause at the Irkutsk institute. WHO Director of Epidemic and Pandemic Management Maria Van Kerkhove noted that the agency still does not know the causative agent behind the first fatality.

Despite international concern, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that the risk to the United States remains extremely low. CDC Director Erica Schwartz confirmed that federal agencies are monitoring travelers from the affected region, though direct flights between Russia and the US have been suspended since 2022.