Russia denies reports of a second plague infection.. Mongolia tightens border controls

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Mongolia ordered today, Wednesday, the implementation of health monitoring measures at its borders with Russia, following reports of the death of an employee in a laboratory in Siberia due to plague infection, while Moscow described most of the media reports circulating about the epidemiological situation as "false" and denied any epidemic threat to the residents of Irkutsk city and the surrounding area.

The Mongolian Ministry of Health stated that "despite the current low level of risk, the ministry has directed the relevant authorities to take precautionary measures and maintain continuous monitoring and surveillance to prevent potential risks."

It added that the border crossings in the Selenge province continue to operate normally, with health monitoring and surveillance measures applied at the borders.

The Mongolian move came amid reports of a suspected second plague infection in Siberia, following the death of an employee at a plague research institute in the Irkutsk region last week.

The United States, the European Union, and the World Health Organization have called on Russia to be transparent regarding the death of the employee, while the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, urged Moscow on Wednesday to clarify "media reports about a second employee suffering from an unknown pneumonia."

In response to questions about those reports, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that "the media conveys a lot, and the vast majority of what it publishes regarding this situation is false information," urging reliance solely on official data issued by the Russian health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor.

For its part, Rospotrebnadzor excluded the existence of any "epidemic threat" to the residents of Irkutsk and the surrounding area, stating that medical monitoring of more than 90 percent of the individuals who came into contact with the deceased employee has concluded, without detecting "any health issues related to an infectious disease."

Peskov also stated that he "has no information" regarding a U.S. request to share data related to the employee's death, after a source familiar with the matter informed the French news agency on Tuesday that the United States had made such a request through a confidential diplomatic communication.

The European Union also called on Russia to "provide timely and transparent reports" regarding the death. EU spokesperson Eva Hentserova stated that she is in contact with experts from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, adding, "We are closely monitoring the situation."

The Russian news site "People of Baikal" reported on Friday that Daria Shibelova, 28, the employee who died, may have contracted pneumonic plague due to a broken test tube, while other media outlets suggested that her death might be linked to a laboratory incident at the facility.

The site mentioned that up to 200 people who may have come into contact with her have been placed in quarantine, but Russian authorities say that the cause of death has not been confirmed, while the Russian health watchdog denied claims in a document circulating online about the imposition of special measures.

Plague is a bacterial disease that can manifest in several forms, including pneumonic plague, which is the most contagious and can be transmitted through the respiratory system, while bubonic plague is transmitted by infected fleas.