Trump offered Russia help over a possible plague case in Siberia
US President Donald Trump said he is ready to help Russia after the death of an employee of an anti-plague institute in Siberia, around whom concerns arose about possible infection with pulmonary plague. At the same time, the woman's diagnosis has not yet been officially confirmed. This was reported by CNBC.
Answering journalists' questions at the White House, Trump said the United States is ready to provide assistance to Russia if needed. At the same time, the American president said he had not discussed the situation with the Russian authorities.
According to Trump, the US is ready to help countries facing similar problems. It is not yet known whether Moscow asked Washington for any help or whether it is ready to accept it.
The US State Department told CNBC that American authorities are closely monitoring the situation together with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies. Washington stressed that many circumstances of the incident remain unconfirmed, and called on the Russian authorities to promptly and openly release reliable information.
The day before, Axios reported that the Trump administration is monitoring the situation in Russia's Irkutsk region and assessing possible further actions.
It concerned the death of an employee of the Russian Research Anti-Plague Institute "Siberia and the Far East". Russian media reported that at the end of September during work she allegedly broke a test tube with the causative agent of pulmonary plague, after which she fell ill with severe pneumonia and died.
This version has not been officially confirmed. Russian authorities reported pneumonia of unknown origin and said that the situation is under control.
After the employee's death, the authorities introduced preventive measures. According to American media, about 200 people who could have been in contact with the woman or were in related medical and laboratory facilities were placed under medical observation.
Axios noted that currently there is no confirmed data either about the employee's infection with plague or about human-to-human transmission.
The World Health Organization also told CNBC that the cause of the employee's death has not yet been definitively established, and laboratory tests are ongoing. WHO is in contact with the Russian authorities and offered support if necessary.
Based on currently available information, the organization assesses the risk to the general population as low.
Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. As WHO explains, the pulmonary form of the disease is particularly dangerous and can be transmitted through infected respiratory particles. At the same time, modern antibiotics are effective against the causative agent, so early diagnosis and timely treatment significantly reduce the risk of death.
Thus, at this point there is no confirmation of either a plague diagnosis in the deceased institute employee or an outbreak of the disease in Russia. American and international authorities continue to monitor the situation.
