Trump says US will help Russia after plague death in Siberia
Almost 200 people who may have had contact with the woman were placed under medical observation, the Moscow Times reported.
President Donald Trump indicated that the United States is investigating a potential plague case in Russia after a laboratory worker in Siberia, Irkutsk, died from severe pneumonia, leaving nearly 200 individuals under observation. Speaking to reporters, Trump stated, "We’re looking at it very strongly, we just heard about it. They call it pneumonia.
And pneumonia, you know, years ago you could treat pneumonia easier. The microbes and the germs have gotten stronger, disproportionately, but we’ll help them. We’ll help them as much as we can." The 28-year-old worker at the anti-plague research institute reportedly died after developing pneumonia following an accident at the facility.
Russian media claimed she may have been exposed to the bacterium responsible for pneumonic plague after breaking a test tube. However, Russia's public health agency, Rospotrebnadzor, disputed this claim, stating that extensive testing found no microorganisms linked to her work. An expert commission confirmed there were no accidents involving pathogenic microorganisms at the institute.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed that the situation should be monitored but not cause alarm. Almost 200 individuals who may have had contact with the deceased worker are being medically observed, with no other infectious diseases detected among them. Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, and pneumonic plague can be transmitted via respiratory droplets, treatable with antibiotics if diagnosed early, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Written by urgent.news from Live Mint's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
