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The United States has formally asked Russia for information on the reported plague death of a laboratory technician, a source close to the matter said Tuesday, as calls grew for transparency from Moscow.
Russian authorities have denied imposing anti-plague measures and played down reports of an incident at a plague research institute in Siberia’s Irkutsk region last week.
But U.S. President Donald Trump said he would speak soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the World Health Organization called on Moscow to be open about the situation.
“We have officially requested additional information from the Russian government,” a State Department spokesperson said Tuesday.
“We are also in official communication with other countries around the world to share information,” the spokesperson added.
The request was sent through a confidential diplomatic communication, known as a demarche, according to a source close to the matter.
During a trip to Iceland, Rubio urged Moscow to provide more details.
“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.
Trump later said he would speak with Putin about what happened.
“I have a call scheduled, yes,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked whether he had spoken to Putin, adding that it would happen “very soon.”
Asked what U.S. intelligence agencies were saying about the situation, Trump said: “We’re in very deep discussions. We’ll be able to report on it probably tomorrow.”
Russian news outlet People of Baikal reported Friday that the woman who died, identified 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 laboratory accident at the facility.
People of Baikal also said up to 200 people who may have had contact with her were under quarantine.
Russian authorities said the cause of death had not been confirmed, while health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor denied claims circulating online that special measures had been introduced.
“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 found that the woman died of pneumonia and that the cause was “undetermined.”
“No microorganisms linked to the young woman’s professional work were found in her biological samples,” Kobzev said, adding that no other staff at the institute had sought medical attention since her death.
The WHO said an update received Tuesday from Russia stressed that “no case of this dangerous disease has been recorded in the city of Irkutsk.”
But WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus later urged Moscow to be transparent, saying the agency 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.
Plague is a bacterial disease that can occur in several forms, including pneumonic plague, the most contagious form, which can spread through respiratory transmission.
Pneumonic plague, which can cause lung failure, can be fatal if not treated early, according to the WHO. Bubonic plague is transmitted by infected fleas.
Trump said Monday that he was ready to help Russia if needed.
In an apparent response to Trump’s offer, Rospotrebnadzor said Tuesday that Moscow was prepared to assist the United States in combating its own infectious disease outbreaks.
The Russian watchdog pointed to what it described as a “significantly worsened” measles situation in three U.S. states and a fatal plague case recorded in New Mexico in June, among other examples.
Measles cases have increased under the Trump administration, in which vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. serves as health secretary.
An international conference on plague and other infectious diseases is scheduled to be held in Irkutsk on Oct. 21-22, although organizers said it was “unrelated to the recent death of an employee of the anti-plague institute.”
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