The Kremlin has responded to spreading reports of a possible plague outbreak in Russia's Irkutsk region. Speaking at a briefing on October 5, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov urged the public to rely solely on data from Rospotrebnadzor and to disregard the rumors circulating around the situation in the region, according to infohub.kz.
"Rospotrebnadzor is the lead agency with competence in this area. It is precisely the official statements of Rospotrebnadzor that should be relied upon, rather than listening to various rumors and various speculation," Peskov said.
The plague rumors emerged after the death of Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old employee of the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute. A version spread on social media and in the press suggesting she may have broken a test tube containing the plague pathogen in the laboratory.
Rospotrebnadzor has not confirmed that version. According to official data, the employee was diagnosed with pneumonia of unidentified etiology. Tests did not detect any microorganisms linked to her professional work, and no accidents involving pathogens were recorded at the institute.
Following the employee's death, authorities introduced a series of anti-epidemic measures. About 200 people who had contact with her are under medical observation. According to Irkutsk region governor Igor Kobzev, no signs of a particularly dangerous infection have been detected in them.
The situation in Russia has drawn the attention of major foreign media outlets. Reuters, the Associated Press, the Financial Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post and other publications reported on the death of the anti-plague institute employee and the quarantine measures that followed. Foreign media stress that Russian authorities have not confirmed a plague diagnosis, while many circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear.
The United States is also monitoring developments. A representative of President Donald Trump's administration told Axios that the White House is aware of the reports of a possible outbreak, is watching the situation and is assessing possible further actions. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the situation warrants attention but is not yet cause for alarm.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that rumors of a possible plague outbreak emerged after the death of the anti-plague institute employee and quarantine measures at medical facilities in the Irkutsk region.
Meanwhile, panic linked to the plague rumors has reached Kazakhstan. The day before, the Center for Combating Disinformation warned of attempts to manipulatively link a fire that occurred on September 21 at the Masgut Aikimbayev National Scientific Center for Especially Dangerous Infections in Almaty to the officially unconfirmed rumor of a plague case in Russia.