The State Department has urged Moscow to provide more details after a researcher at a Siberian anti-plague institute died. The cause of death remains unknown, and no link to a dangerous infection has been confirmed.
The United States has increased diplomatic pressure on Russia following the death of a researcher at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East and the introduction of quarantine measures. The Wall Street Journal, cited by ANSA, reported that the State Department sent Moscow a formal démarche urging it to meet international obligations to share information about possible public-health threats.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the information shared by Moscow as “still quite limited” and called on Russian authorities to be transparent. President Donald Trump told reporters he expected to speak with Vladimir Putin. Rubio made the comments while visiting Iceland to discuss Arctic security cooperation.
Russian authorities said the researcher died of pneumonia of unknown cause. Local media identified her as Daria Shipilova; as of the report, officials had not announced the exact cause of death. Claims that she may have contracted plague or another laboratory pathogen remain unconfirmed. The World Health Organization said it was in contact with Russian authorities; AP reported that the WHO assessed the risk outside Russia as very low.
The WHO’s 2005 International Health Regulations require countries to notify the organization within 24 hours of events that could become a public-health emergency of international concern and to provide relevant information. The WSJ report said the United States cited those obligations in its request. No confirmed diagnosis or detailed laboratory findings had been made public.