The US Embassy in Moscow issued a health alert on Tuesday over press reports of suspected pneumonic plague in Russia’s Irkutsk region, where a lab worker died, and hospitals reportedly went into quarantine. Russia attributes her death to pneumonia of unknown cause.
The embassy says it is tracking the situation closely and warns that the US government has “limited ability to help U.S. citizens in Russia, especially outside of Moscow.” Government personnel could face additional travel restrictions to specific regions over health and security concerns.
Americans in the area should follow local health authorities, avoid affected facilities and seek care promptly for fever or respiratory symptoms.
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Read: Russian Plague Lab Worker Dies After Reported Broken Test Tube, Nearly 200 Isolated
A diplomatic message to Moscow reportedly argued that Russia’s sparse disclosures contravene its international health obligations. A State Department spokesperson confirmed the department formally requested more information.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “maybe there’s nothing there. Maybe it’s bigger than we thought,” adding that Washington lacks the information to say which.
President Donald Trump says he has “a call scheduled” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, expected very soon. He also said “Anybody that has that kind of a problem, we’re always willing to help.” No call had been confirmed at the time of writing.
Russia’s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor says the 28-year-old worker died of “pneumonia of unknown aetiology” and that no accidents occurred at her institute. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged Russians to trust that agency and “disregard rumors, speculation”.
The World Health Organization says the cause of death has not been officially established, though lab tests are reportedly still underway. Russia told the agency that tests found no dangerous pathogens among the woman’s contacts and that none have symptoms. WHO puts the risk at very low for Europe, low for Russia and moderate to low for Irkutsk.
The account that the lab worker broke a test tube holding plague bacteria on September 25 comes from an independent Russian outlet, and local authorities have not confirmed it. The same account says more than 60 institute employees were kept inside the building from October 2.
