The Kremlin has commented on reports of a possible plague outbreak in Russia's Irkutsk region. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov urged reliance on Rospotrebnadzor data and not to trust rumors spreading around the situation in the region. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

"The lead agency competent in this area is Rospotrebnadzor. And it is precisely on the official statements of Rospotrebnadzor that one should rely, not listening to various rumors, various speculations," Peskov said at a briefing on October 5.

How the plague rumors emerged

The plague rumors appeared after the death of 28-year-old Darya Shipilova, an employee of the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute. A version spread on social media and in the press that she may have broken a test tube containing the plague pathogen in the laboratory.

Rospotrebnadzor did not confirm this version. According to official data, the employee was diagnosed with pneumonia of unspecified etiology. Studies did not reveal microorganisms related to her professional activity, and no accidents involving work with pathogens were recorded at the institute.

Measures introduced

After the employee's death, authorities introduced a number 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 were found in them.

Foreign media attention

The situation in Russia attracted the attention of major foreign media. Reuters, Associated Press, Financial Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post and other outlets wrote about the death of the anti-plague institute employee and the subsequent quarantine measures.

At the same time, foreign media emphasize that Russian authorities have not confirmed the "plague" diagnosis, but many circumstances of what happened remain unclear.

US reaction

The United States is also monitoring the situation. A representative of President Donald Trump's administration told Axios that the White House is aware of reports of a possible outbreak, is monitoring the situation and assessing possible further actions.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the situation requires attention, but for now is not a cause for alarm.

Earlier, Kursiv wrote that rumors of a possible plague outbreak appeared after the death of the anti-plague institute employee and quarantine in medical facilities in the Irkutsk region.

Panic in Kazakhstan

Meanwhile, panic related to the plague rumors 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 with the officially unconfirmed rumor of a plague case in Russia.

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