(AGENPARL) - Roma, 7 Ottobre 2026 - Please find below a statement from WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the report of a death of a laboratory worker in Russia of severe pneumonia.
Since the first media reports, WHO has been actively following up on the reported death of a laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Antiplague Research Institute in Irkutsk oblast, Russian Federation. The individual died on 2 October 2026 after being hospitalised with severe pneumonia.
Initial media reports suggested pneumonic plague following an alleged accidental laboratory exposure. In response to WHO's verification request under the International Health Regulations, the Russian health authorities reported that no case of plague had recently been registered in Irkutsk oblast.
