WHO says cannot conduct full risk assessment on Russia plague

GENEVA — The World Health Organization said Wednesday it could not produce a full risk assessment as it did not yet have the whole picture from Russia on the suspected plague death of a laboratory technician. The WHO, the United States and the European Union have urged Moscow to provide more information following the death of the 28-year-old woman in Irkutsk in Siberia. "We don't yet have the full picture of this event and we're not able to conduct a full risk assessment," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference. "Timely, complete and transparent information sharing under the international regulations is essential to clarify conflicting reports and enable an accurate assessment of potential public and risks." Tedros said the anti-plague laboratory worker died after being hospitalised with severe pneumonia, with initial media reports suggesting pneumonia plague following an accidental lab exposure. "WHO is aware that the Russian government held a meeting on October 2 because they suspected a resident of the Irkutsk oblast had contracted a dangerous infection," he add