Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assurances they have received from Russia regarding the death of a laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia from reported pneumonic plague.

Under the World Health Organization's International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), countries are required to report and verify events that may constitute a public health emergency of international concern.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that Russian authorities had provided information through those channels and that subsequently the WHO had identified no evidence of ongoing transmission associated with the event.

The Government has well-established arrangements to detect, assess, and respond to infectious disease threats, including close coordination with international partners and ongoing surveillance of emerging health risks.