Russian officials say tests found no plague among people who had contact with a 28-year-old institute worker. About 200 people were quarantined after her death from pneumonia of unknown origin.
The death of a 28-year-old employee at a Siberian institute that conducts plague research led to the quarantine of about 200 people and drew attention abroad. Russian authorities said the woman died on Friday of pneumonia of unknown origin. The cause of her illness and death has not been publicly established.
Local officials said about 60% of those placed in quarantine had been released. Russia’s consumer and public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said no plague cases had been detected among people who had contact with the woman. The agency also reported no infectious illnesses among institute employees in the ten days before the incident.
Russian authorities say tests found no microorganisms linked to the woman’s research work in her body. That statement does not mean the cause of death has been fully established: officials continue to describe it as pneumonia of unknown origin.
U.S. President Donald Trump offered assistance to Russia on Monday and called the incident a major problem for the country. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Washington needed more information before deciding whether to take any action. During a visit to Iceland, he said Moscow should provide the world with further details and that the United States had resources to help if the case proved more serious than reported.
Trump and Rubio said the United States was ready to assist, but no plague outbreak has been confirmed. Russian health authorities say no disease has been found among the woman’s contacts. Reuters reported the Russian statements and noted that available information did not independently establish whether doctors had ruled out plague in the woman herself.