Russia plague outbreak: Epidemic risk is low, says WHO

The risk of a plague epidemic is low after the death of a laboratory technician who worked at a plague research institute in Russia, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.However, the United Nations body said that it was closely monitoring the situation and urged Russian authorities to be “transparent” about the death.Darya Shipilova, 28, worked at the Irkutsk Antiplague Research Institute in the Siberia region of Russia. She died on 2 October, two days after being admitted to hospital and placed on a ventilator.1Russian authorities have downplayed the incident and said that Shipilova died of “pneumonia of an unknown aetiology.” However, media reports suggested that she died of pneumonic plague and that she may have become infected after an accident in the laboratory.Quarantine measures have been put in place at the research centre and at several hospitals in the region.Responding to an official request under International Health Regulations, Russian…