Onishchenko questioned the plague theory; the Buryatia trip remained disputed

On October 2, epidemiologist and Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) member Gennady Onishchenko expressed doubt about the plague theory and commented on the patient’s alleged return from Buryatia. IRK.ru relayed his interview with TASS, Russia’s state news agency (the abbreviation derives from its historical name, Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union).

Onishchenko is a former head of Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing. His remarks are expert commentary: they are not based on a published examination of the patient or a verified travel itinerary.

That same day, Buryatia’s leader Alexey Tsydenov denied that the deceased had visited the republic. Tsydenov’s statement was not accompanied by publicly available tickets, itinerary records or border documents. The reason for the discrepancy has not been established.