WHO seeks details on Siberia pneumonia cases

The World Health Organization has asked Russia to comment on unconfirmed media reports that another laboratory worker in Siberia has contracted severe pneumonia of unknown cause, following a similar fatal case. Russian authorities raised the alarm after a 28-year-old woman working at a plague research institute in Siberia died from pneumonia of unknown origin. WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus said the organization has requested further information to clarify the underlying cause, while the US State Department has also sent a formal inquiry to Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed most media coverage as false information, and Russia's health watchdog reported no pneumonia cases among contacts of the institute. President Donald Trump said he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the matter soon, while the US has offered to help Russia.