President Trump: US Ready to Help Russia Over Suspected Plague — Al Jazeera
US President Donald Trump said that the United States is ready to help Russia amid reports of a suspected case of pneumonic plague in Irkutsk. As Al Jazeera reports, Trump said Washington is closely monitoring the situation but has not yet discussed it with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to Trump, the United States is ready to provide support to those facing such a problem. He also said that disease-causing agents can become more resistant to treatments that were previously effective.
Hospital quarantine
The authorities of Russia — an aggressor state — have imposed a quarantine at a hospital and are tracing the contacts of an employee of an anti-plague research institute in Irkutsk who died with suspected pneumonic plague. Local media identified her as 28-year-old laboratory assistant Daria Shipilova.
Official details of the incident are limited. According to Russian media, nearly 200 people are under medical observation. On Sunday, the Russian TASS agency, citing Rospotrebnadzor, reported that an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East had been diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown origin. The agency also said that expanded testing of the patient's samples found no microorganisms connected to her work.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Risk assessment
On Saturday, the governor of neighboring Buryatia wrote on Telegram that a woman had died in Irkutsk, “possibly from plague.” The World Health Organization, citing unofficial information it had received, said the risk to the public appears to be low.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said that the situation is not a cause for alarm but requires attention. A US State Department spokesperson called on the Russian authorities to promptly and openly share accurate information.
Pneumonic plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which is commonly found in small mammals and their fleas. The infection affects the lungs, and an infected person can spread the pathogen through droplets when coughing. If detected early, the disease is treated with antibiotics, but without treatment it can lead to death within one to six days.
