Trump to call Putin ‘very soon’ over mysterious death at Russian plague lab

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - US President Donald Trump said he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘very soon’ over the reported death of a worker at a plague research institute in Siberia. — AFP pic

WASHINGTON, Oct 7 — US President Donald Trump said yesterday he would speak very soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the reported plague death of a laboratory technician, as Washington and the United Nations called for transparency from Moscow.

Russian authorities denied that they were imposing anti-plague measures and played down the reports of an incident at a plague research institute in Siberia’s Irkutsk region last week.

But Washington is showing growing concern, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling on Russia to be open about the situation. The World Health Organisation issued a similar appeal yesterday.

“We encourage Russia to be transparent and share more information with the world so that all of us could react accordingly and appropriately,” Rubio said during a trip to Iceland.

Trump later said he would be speaking to Putin about what happened.

“I have a call scheduled, yes,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if he had spoken to Putin on the issue yet, adding that it would happen “very soon.”

Asked what US intelligence agencies were saying about the situation, Trump added: “We’re in very deep discussions. We’ll be able to report on it probably tomorrow.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that the US State Department had sent Russia a confidential diplomatic communication, known as a demarche, warning Moscow that failure to disclose details runs counter to its international health obligations.

Cause of death ‘undetermined’

Russian news outlet People of Baikal reported Friday that the dead woman -- named as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova -- may have contracted pneumonic plague from a broken test tube.

Other media reported a possible link between her death and a lab accident at the facility.

The People of Baikal outlet also said up to 200 people with whom she may have had contact were under quarantine.

But Russian authorities say the cause of death is not confirmed and health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has denied claims circulating in a document online that special measures had been put in place.

“We wish to clarify that the document and information in question do not originate from official sources and are untrue,” it said on Telegram.

Russian officials said postmortem tests had not detected the disease.

Irkutsk Regional Governor Igor Kobzev said Monday that a Rospotrebnadzor inspection had found the woman died of pneumonia and the cause was “undetermined.”

“No microorganisms linked to the young woman’s professional work were found in her biological samples,” he said, adding that no other staff at the institute had sought medical attention since her death.

The World Health Organisation said that an update received yesterday from Russia stressed that “no case of this dangerous disease has been recorded in the city of Irkutsk.”

But its director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus later urged Moscow to be transparent, saying the WHO had “requested further information” on the cause of the pneumonia case and other details.

“Timely, complete and transparent information sharing under the International Health Regulations is essential to clarify conflicting reports and enable an accurate assessment of potential public health risks,” he wrote on X.

‘Moderate to low’ risk 

Plague is a bacterial disease that can occur in several forms, including pneumonic plague, which is the most contagious type and can be transmitted by respiratory means. Bubonic plague is transmitted by infected fleas.

Pneumonic plague, which causes lung failure, can be fatal if not treated early, according to WHO.

Trump said Monday he was ready to help Russia if needed.

But in an apparent response to Trump’s offer, the Russian watchdog said yesterday that Moscow was prepared to assist the United States in combating its own outbreaks of infectious diseases.

It highlighted a “significantly worsened” measles situation in three US states, and a “fatal case of plague” recorded in New Mexico in June, among other things.

Measles cases have increased under the Trump administration, in which vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr serves as health secretary.

Meanwhile an international conference on plague and other infectious diseases will be held in Irkutsk on October 21-22, although organisers said it was “unrelated to the recent death of an employee of the anti-plague institute.” — AFP