President Donald Trump said the United States was prepared to help Russia as authorities investigate the suspected pneumonic-plague death of a laboratory worker in the Siberian region of Irkutsk. Trump said he had not discussed the case with Russian President Vladimir Putin but was willing to offer assistance.
Diagnosis still unconfirmed
The worker, identified in local coverage as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova, was employed at a regional anti-plague research institute. Russian authorities quarantined a hospital and began tracing contacts. Media reports said nearly 200 people were placed under medical observation.
Russia’s consumer-protection agency said the patient had been diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown origin and that tests had not found microorganisms linked to her work. Officials have released limited information, leaving the cause of death uncertain.
Health risk assessment
The World Health Organization said, on the basis of unofficial information available to it, that the risk to the general public appeared low. Pneumonic plague affects the lungs and can spread through infectious respiratory droplets, but the suspected case has not been confirmed. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was monitoring developments and wanted more information from Moscow.
