Russia tells WHO there are no plague cases as Rubio calls for more information on lab worker's death

Russian officials informed the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday that there were no plague cases in Irkutsk, Siberia, where a laboratory worker at a plague research institute passed away last week. Moscow had previously disclosed to the WHO that they were investigating whether the cause of death was pneumonic plague. Christian Lindmeier, a WHO spokesperson, confirmed during a Geneva press briefing that "no case of this dangerous disease has been recorded in the city of Irkutsk."

The Russian authorities also disclosed to the WHO that they had identified individuals who had contact with the deceased laboratory worker, and the test results for dangerous infectious pathogens were negative. Rubio, US Secretary of State, urged Russia to provide more information regarding the laboratory worker's death. He stated, "I think it's incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world.

We're watching it very closely, hour by hour." Rubio added that the US had "measures" at their disposal to assist Russia if the situation turned out to be more serious than initially acknowledged. However, he emphasized that the US needed more information before taking any action.

President Donald Trump expressed the US's readiness to help in the matter on Monday, stating that the outbreak was a "big problem for Russia." The WHO has previously stated that the risk of plague to the general population appeared to be low.