The U.S. president plans to discuss the death of an employee at an anti-plague institute. Plague has not been confirmed; WHO says the risk outside Russia is very low.
Donald Trump said on October 6 that he had a call scheduled with Vladimir Putin “very soon.” The U.S. president said he planned to discuss the death of an employee at an anti-plague institute in Irkutsk and reports of possible plague exposure. WHO said it had contacted Russian authorities and assessed the risk beyond Russia as very low.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Russia to provide more information, saying a possible laboratory infection was concerning after the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wall Street Journal reported that Washington had formally warned Moscow about international obligations to share health information.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was monitoring the situation but saw no sign of a broader threat to the United States. Russian health authorities said the 28-year-old employee died of pneumonia of undetermined origin. Rospotrebnadzor denied reports that a heightened sanitary regime and strict restrictions had been introduced in Irkutsk region.
As of publication, there was no official confirmation of a plague case. The Associated Press also reported that WHO was in contact with Russian authorities. The matter concerns a suspected case and requests for more information, not a confirmed outbreak.