Russian authorities have informed the World Health Organization (WHO) that no plague cases have been registered in Irkutsk. Most people placed under quarantine have already been released. The WHO so far sees no signs of the infection spreading and assesses the epidemic risk in Russia as low, according to Reuters and The Guardian. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier read out the official response of the Russian authorities to the organization's request at a briefing in Geneva on October 6.

"Not a single case of this dangerous disease has been registered in the city of Irkutsk in the Russian Federation," the response says.

According to Lindmeier, everyone who had contact with the deceased has been identified and is under observation. None of them have shown symptoms of the disease so far. The WHO assessed the risk for Irkutsk as "moderate to low," for the rest of Russia as "low," and for Europe as "very low."

Rospotrebnadzor, for its part, said that over the past ten days no infectious diseases have been registered among employees of the anti-plague institute. According to the service, extended studies did not find microorganisms associated with the deceased's professional activity in her body.

People who had contact with the employee were placed under medical observation in hospitals, where laboratory tests were conducted daily. The tests revealed two cases of COVID-19 and two cases of rhinovirus infection. No pathogens of other infectious diseases were found, according to Rospotrebnadzor.

Earlier, Kursiv wrote that rumors of a possible plague outbreak 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 might have broken a test tube containing the pathogen.

However, on October 6, Deputy Head of the Shelekhov District Elena Sofina stated that the "dangerous diagnosis" was not confirmed. According to her, 60% of people placed under quarantine as a precautionary measure have already been released. Local media reported that the restrictions initially affected about 200 people.

US President Donald Trump called the situation "a big problem for Russia" and said Washington was ready to provide assistance.

"We will help. Everyone who faces such a problem, we will always help," he told journalists at the White House.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke positively about the offer.

"It is always good when mutual assistance is offered," Reuters quoted him as saying.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Moscow to disclose more details about what happened.

"I think Russia is obviously obliged to share additional information with the world. We are following the situation very closely, hour by hour," The Guardian quoted him as saying.

In Kazakhstan, the Center for Combating Disinformation warned about attempts to link a fire at the Masgut Aikimbayev National Scientific Center for Especially Dangerous Infections in Almaty to rumors about plague in Russia. The fire occurred on September 21. The center called attempts to link these events manipulative.

Earlier, Kursiv reported on where plague is raging in the 21st century and how to protect against it.

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