China reports cooperation with Russia on infections, including plague

On 6 October, Guo Jiakun, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, responded to a question about the Irkutsk incident. He said China and Russia maintained close exchanges and cooperation on preventing and controlling infectious diseases, including plague.

NBC (National Broadcasting Company, a United States broadcaster) asked whether Russian authorities were reaching out to Chinese authorities and experts following reports of an institute employee’s death in Irkutsk. The response did not specify whether a separate request had been made about this episode.

The published response provides no test results, confirmed diagnosis, new restrictions or deployment of specialists. Its statement about cooperation does not establish any of those details.

The English page is marked updated on 6 October at 19:44, with no time zone specified. The source was located during the additional check on 8 October.

An official Chinese response exists, correcting a gap in the research. The article about Xinhua’s report has also been corrected.