US President Donald Trump said that US intelligence agencies were in “deep discussions” over the suspected case of pneumonic plague in Russia while talking to reporters on Tuesday.
He also said he would be speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin “very soon,” and promised that he would be able to report more on the case soon, “probably tomorrow.”
Russia has not shared an official cause of the death of 28-year-old Darya Shipilova, who worked as a lab technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia.
Russia’s official public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, stated that Shipilova died on Friday of “pneumonia of unknown etiology.”
However, early local reports and statements from local officials said that Shipilova had died of the pneumonic plague.
Rubio warns against speculation, says US operating with limited information
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the US was operating with limited information.
“Maybe there’s nothing there, maybe it’s bigger than we thought, we don’t know,” he said.
“It would be reckless at this moment, given the limited information we still have, to speculate about what this might or might not be or what this is or what this isn’t,” he added.
Rubio also called upon Russia to share additional details.
“It’s incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world,” he said.
The US has also warned Russia that it may be violating its international health obligations by failing to disclose additional details of the case, the Wall Street Journal cited US officials as saying on Tuesday.
A State Department spokesperson told WSJ that the department has requested additional information from the Russian government and is in official communication with other countries to share information, according to the report.
Russia is a part of a 2005 global health pact called the International Health Regulations, which requires countries to notify the World Health Organization (WHO) of an event that could become an international public health emergency.
Countries that identify such an event are required to provide the WHO with detailed updates on tests, lab results, and anti-epidemic measures.
Rospotrebnadzor stated that no microorganisms linked to Shipilova’s work were found during analyses of her body and that of almost 200 individuals tested; the only infections they found were two cases of COVID-19 and two of rhinovirus.
However, Moscow has not shared which tests were conducted, according to the WSJ‘s report.
