Trump Schedules Call With Putin as US Monitors Suspected Plague Case in Russia
President Trump said Tuesday that he has a call scheduled with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the United States closely monitors a mysterious death at a plague research institute in Siberia.
Trump told reporters at the White House that he expects to speak with Putin “very soon” about the situation. The president said U.S. intelligence agencies are deeply engaged in discussions surrounding the case and indicated that additional information could become available as early as Wednesday.
The concern centers on the death of 28-year-old laboratory worker Darya Shipilova, who worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. Russian authorities have said she died from pneumonia of an unknown origin.
Shipilova’s death prompted authorities to quarantine roughly 200 people who may have had contact with her. Russian officials said Tuesday that no plague cases had been detected among those contacts and that no infectious diseases had been reported among employees of the institute during the previous 10 days.
Russia’s public health watchdog has also disputed unconfirmed reports that Shipilova was exposed to plague bacteria during an accident at the laboratory. Officials said extensive testing had not detected microorganisms in her body connected to her work.
The World Health Organization is monitoring the situation and has said the risk outside Russia is currently considered very low. Health officials said the contacts identified by Russian authorities were being monitored and had not shown symptoms associated with the disease.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called on Moscow to provide additional information about the death. Rubio said the United States is watching developments closely and argued that greater transparency from Russian authorities is necessary to determine exactly what occurred.
Trump previously said the United States would be willing to assist Russia if the situation develops into a more serious public health problem. The Kremlin welcomed the offer, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying offers of mutual assistance are positive while emphasizing that Russian health authorities are handling the investigation.
Pneumonic plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and affects the lungs. Unlike the more familiar bubonic form, pneumonic plague can spread between people through respiratory droplets, but modern antibiotics can effectively treat the disease when administered quickly.
The developing health concern comes amid broader tensions between Washington and Moscow over the war in Ukraine and potential new U.S. sanctions against Russian entities. The Trump administration faces an Oct. 18 deadline to determine whether additional sanctions will be imposed under legislation signed by the president in September.
Trump did not specify exactly when his conversation with Putin will take place or whether other issues will be discussed. For now, U.S. officials say they are continuing to gather information while awaiting greater clarity from Moscow about the Siberian laboratory worker’s death.