Russia denies second plague case reports; WHO seeks clarification

Russia dismissed media reports of a second suspected pneumonic plague case in Siberia as false information, while the World Health Organization urged Moscow to formally respond to its inquiry about the reports. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that most media reporting on the situation is inaccurate and that information should come from Russia's health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor. The WHO confirmed it has asked Russia to clarify reports of a second employee with pneumonia of undetermined cause at the Irkutsk institute. The first case involved a 28-year-old woman who died after being diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown origin. The US, EU, and WHO have called for transparency, though the CDC described the risk to the United States as "extremely low."