GENEVA, October 6. /TASS/. The World Health Organization (WHO) assesses the public health risk as low following the detection of a case of pneumonia of unknown etiology in an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, WHO Spokesman Christian Lindmeier told TASS.

"Based on unofficial information available, the public health risk to the general population appears to be low," he said. "All of the patient’s contacts have reportedly been identified and are being monitored for illness, and none to date have shown symptoms of illness," Lindmeier added.

The press service of Russia’s health watchdog - Rospotrebnadzor - earlier said that the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk Region was stable, and that preventive measures and medical monitoring of people who had been in contact with the woman diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown etiology were nearing completion.

Commenting earlier on reports of plague or another infection in the Irkutsk Region, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said people should rely on assessments by Rospotrebnadzor, rather than rumors and idle speculation.