Trump Offers Aid to Russia Amid Suspected Plague Outbreak
The President pledges assistance as Russian authorities work to contain a potential pneumonic plague outbreak in Siberia following the death of a lab worker, while also asserting limited travel between the US and Russia mitigates immediate concern.
Donald Trump has offered assistance to Russia as the country attempts to manage a suspected outbreak of airborne plague in Siberia, following the death of a laboratory worker. "We're looking at it very strongly," Trump told reporters when asked about the disease, which Russian authorities are identifying as pneumonia. "The microbes and the germs have gotten stronger disproportionately, but we'll help them."
Russian authorities are working to downplay the death of Daria Shipilova, 28, an employee at the anti-plague institute in Irkutsk. Moscow maintains she died of "pneumonia of unknown etiology," not plague. However, reports indicate nearly 200 people are under medical observation, and at least four hospitals in the region have been closed for a three-week quarantine. More than 60 of Shipilova's colleagues are reportedly isolated within the institute.
Local media, citing sources within the security services, suggest the lab worker may have contracted pneumonic plague after a test tube broke.
Pneumonic plague, which attacks the lungs, can spread easily between individuals through respiratory particles and is treatable with antibiotics if caught early. Shipilova was hospitalized with severe pneumonia symptoms on September 29 and died on October 2. Russia's health watchdog claims tests found no microorganisms linked to her work and denies an accident occurred at the institute. However, Alexei Tsydenov, the governor of the neighboring region of Buryatia, initially confirmed the death was from plague before later modifying his statement.
Authorities have canceled public events in Irkutsk and reportedly launched a criminal investigation into health safety violations. The regional Governor Igor Kobzev has described the situation as stable.
Senator Marco Rubio stated that Washington is "watching and monitoring it closely." He acknowledged that while such an outbreak could spread rapidly, there is no immediate cause for alarm due to the limited commercial travel between the United States and Russia. "There's very limited travel between the US and Russia, obviously," Rubio told reporters. "But like anything else, something like that gets out and could quickly spread. So we're watching and monitoring it closely. I don't think it's cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause to just keep an eye on it. And we're doing that."