Suspected plague in Russia: Trump wants to call Putin, WHO requests explanation
US President Donald Trump has announced that a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin is planned amid reports of the death of a laboratory worker in Irkutsk and the plague. The World Health Organization has requested additional information from Russia. Russian authorities, meanwhile, state that no cases of plague have been recorded in the region.
Suspected plague in Russia: Trump intends to call Putin, WHO requests clarification
Answering journalists' questions on October 6, Trump said he would speak with Putin in the coming days. When asked whether he had discussed the situation in Irkutsk with the Russian president, he announced that a telephone conversation was planned.
The incident is linked to the death of 28-year-old laboratory assistant Darya Shipilova from the Irkutsk Plague Control Research Institute. She died on the night of October 2 at the Shelekhov District Hospital in the Irkutsk region.
Rospotrebnadzor stated that the deceased was diagnosed with pneumonia of unspecified etiology. Her death from plague has not been officially confirmed.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on the social network X on the night of October 7 that the organization is in contact with Russian health authorities and has offered technical assistance.
He wrote that in response to the WHO's request, the Russian side stated that not a single case of plague had been recorded in the Irkutsk region recently.
Russian authorities also reported that an epidemiological investigation had been conducted, and preventive and control measures had been taken. Individuals identified as having been in contact with the deceased were placed under medical observation and tested.
According to Ghebreyesus, the Russian side reported that no pathogens of high-consequence infections were detected in these individuals, and medical observation for all of them has been completed.
At the same time, the WHO requested additional information to determine the cause of the severe pneumonia and the pathogen that prompted the sanitary measures. The organization also wants to verify media reports about another employee diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown etiology.
Earlier, on October 5, Trump said that the US is closely monitoring the situation in Russia and is ready to help if necessary.
Suspicions of plague also spread following statements by local officials. The head of neighboring Buryatia, Aleksey Tsydenov, initially wrote that Shipilova's death was caused by plague, but later edited his post to add the word "probably."
The governor of the Irkutsk region, Igor Kobzev, stated there was a suspicion of a "highly dangerous infection," but did not specify the exact diagnosis.