Russia dismisses reports of second plague case as ‘false information’

Russia has dismissed media reports of a second suspected case of pneumonic plague in Siberia, as the World Health Organization (WHO) urged Moscow to formally respond to its inquiry regarding the reports. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that “the vast majority of what the media is reporting regarding this situation is false information”, in response to a question about reports of a second case. Peskov said that information on the suspected cases should be derived from official statements by Russia’s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor. Russia’s health regulator said there were no infections detected among staff after a plague institute worker died from pneumonia.