The Kremlin has commented on reports of a possible plague outbreak in Russia's Irkutsk region, urging people to rely solely on the official position of Rospotrebnadzor and not to trust rumors, infohub.kz reports.
Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told journalists that on the situation in the Irkutsk region, people should follow the official position of Rospotrebnadzor. "In this case, the lead agency with competence in this area is Rospotrebnadzor. And it is precisely the official statements of Rospotrebnadzor that should be followed, without listening to various rumors, various speculation and so on. There is Rospotrebnadzor, where highly qualified professionals in this field work," Peskov said, answering a question about whether the Kremlin is monitoring the situation in the Irkutsk region.
Earlier, media reported that an employee of an anti-plague institute in Russia's Irkutsk region had died with suspected plague. It was assumed that the deceased had accidentally broken a test tube containing the dangerous bacterium in the laboratory while collecting biomaterial for diagnosis.
Later, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Health described the measures taken in the republic following reports of a suspected case of a particularly dangerous infection in Russia.