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Reports that a woman had died of pneumonic plague after working at an anti-plague institute in Siberia’s Irkutsk region triggered concern over a possible laboratory accident.
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House. (Getty Images via AFP)
US President Donald Trump on Monday said Washington was closely monitoring reports of a possible plague case in Russia and offered American assistance, as Russian officials sought to play down concerns over the death of a laboratory worker.
“We’re looking at it very strongly, we just heard about it,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked about the reported risk of plague spreading from Russia. “We’ll help them, we’ll help them as much as we can.”
Reports that a 28-year-old woman, Darya Shipilova, had died of pneumonic plague after working at an anti-plague institute in Siberia’s Irkutsk region triggered concern over a possible laboratory accident.
Russia rejects plague diagnosis
Russian officials have disputed reports that Shipilova died from plague. Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said a special investigation found that she had died from pneumonia of “undetermined aetiology”.
Russia’s consumer and health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, found no microorganisms linked to the woman’s work in her biological samples, Kobzev said.
He added that no other staff from the anti-plague institute had sought medical treatment since her death and said the sanitary situation in the region remained stable.
The Russian outlet People of Baikal, citing unnamed security sources, had reported that the woman may have contracted pneumonic plague from a broken test tube. Other reports also suggested a possible laboratory accident, while up to 200 people were reportedly placed under quarantine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged people to rely on official statements rather than “rumours and speculations”.
US monitors risk
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was monitoring developments but saw no “cause for alarm”.
“Something like that gets out, it could quickly spread,” Rubio said, adding that the US was keeping a close watch on the situation.
Pneumonic plague is a severe form of the bacterial disease and can spread through respiratory droplets. It can be fatal if treatment is delayed, according to the World Health Organisation.
The reports have drawn particular attention in Washington after the Covid-19 pandemic and renewed debate over the origins of that outbreak.
Malick Gibani, a clinical associate professor in bacterial vaccinology at Imperial College London, said the measures reported in Russia appeared “proportionate”, noting that quarantine and monitoring could help prevent any potential onward transmission.
(With inputs from agencies)
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