Nearly 200 people have been placed under medical observation in Russia’s Irkutsk region in eastern Siberia following suspected exposure to plague, according to local media reports.
About 189 people are being monitored after an employee of an anti-plague research institute in Irkutsk fell ill.
Alexei Tsydenov, head of the neighbouring Republic of Buryatia, said the woman had died from an unspecified form of plague.
However, Russia’s public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said on Sunday that the employee had been diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown etiology”.
The agency said the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region, including the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov, remained stable.
The agency said expanded testing had found no microorganisms linked to the employee’s work.
The development followed local media reports on Friday that a 27-year-old employee of an anti-plague institute had fallen ill with suspected pneumonic plague after returning from a work trip to Buryatia.
The reports, citing Russian Telegram channel Mash, said an outbreak had been reported in the area near the border with Mongolia.
Meanwhile, the White House is monitoring reports of the suspected case and related quarantines in Russia, Axios reported on Sunday, citing a Trump administration official.
According to the report, the official said the administration was “aware, monitoring the outbreak, and assessing options.”
