Trump says he has call scheduled with Putin over suspected plague death in Siberia

President Trump said Tuesday that he has a call scheduled with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the suspected pneumonic plague case in Siberia, telling reporters on the White House South Lawn it would take place “very soon”, NBC News reported. A day earlier, Trump said the United States was willing to help Russia, telling reporters “we’ll help” and “anybody that has that kind of a problem, we’re always willing to help”, according to CNBC and NBC News. The New York Post reported he said he had not yet spoken with Putin about the matter. Trump described the disease as “a rough disease”, adding that “somehow those microbes have gotten stronger and stronger, they’re like an army”. The New York Post said it was unclear what he meant by his assessment of the pathogens. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]

The case follows the death of Darya Shipilova, 28, who worked at an anti-plague research institute in Irkutsk, in eastern Siberia. Fox News and NBC News named the facility as the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East, and CNN as the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia. Fox News reported that Russia’s public health entity Rospotrebnadzor said the worker had been diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown etiology”, or origin, and that testing revealed “no microorganisms associated with the patient’s professional activities”; it said the watchdog found no incidents at the facility involving pathogenic microorganisms. NBC News reported the watchdog said plague was not found among the staffer’s contacts, with two cases of Covid and one of rhinovirus found instead. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]

The State Department said it was monitoring the suspected case. “Many details have not been confirmed. We encourage Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly,” a State Department official said, according to The Hill and CNBC. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking Tuesday in Iceland, said: “Maybe, you know, there’s nothing there. Maybe it’s bigger than we thought. We don’t know,” adding that “it would be reckless at this moment, given the limited information we still have, to speculate about what this might or might not be”. The New York Post reported that Rubio told reporters Monday as he left Washington that there is “very limited travel between the US and Russia” and that “I don’t think it’s cause for alarm but it is cause for focus”. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 6 , 7 ]

The World Health Organization said in an email that the cause of death had not been confirmed and testing was underway, that it was in contact with Russian authorities and had offered support if needed, and that it assessed the risk to the general public as low based on available information, CNBC reported. CNBC also reported that Russian authorities said the situation was under control. A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said, according to Fox News, that “while the circumstances of this reported case remain unconfirmed, plague is a serious bacterial disease that is treatable with antibiotics, particularly when recognized and treated early”, and that “at this time, there is no indication from available reporting of a broader threat to the United States”. [ 4 , 5 ]

NBC News reported that some 200 people were under medical observation in Siberia after the death, The Hill said, and CNBC reported authorities were said to have quarantined nearly 200 people. CNN reported that the administration was struggling to get clear answers from Russian officials and that what little information has come out of Russia has faced deep scepticism, with officials unconvinced the Kremlin is being fully forthcoming, according to people familiar with the situation. US officials were in touch with the Russian government as early as last Friday, a State Department official said, according to CNN and NBC News. [ 3 , 4 , 6 , 7 ]

The documents also differed in their background on the disease. The Hill cited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describing pneumonic plague as “a rare and often fatal disease that can be transmitted by respiratory droplets from animals or persons infected with Yersinia pestis bacteria”, noting it differs from pneumonia. The New York Post said pneumonic plague is almost always fatal if not treated quickly with common antibiotics and, unlike other forms of plague, can spread from human to human by respiration, and that Soviet biological warfare scientists in the 1980s modified Yersinia pestis to make it resistant to antibiotics. [ 1 , 3 ]