Trump to speak to Putin about plague lab worker’s death in Russia

US President Donald Trump has announced his intention to converse with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the demise of a laboratory worker at a plague research facility in Siberia. "At present, we are engaged in extensive discussions," Trump declared, further stating that he anticipates sharing updates on his talks with Putin "probably" by Thursday.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that no telephone call has been arranged. Russian authorities are currently probing the cause of the 28-year-old's death and have not affirmed that the alleged illness is pneumonic plague, a highly lethal form of the plague that primarily affects the lungs. They maintain that "there are no epidemic risks to the populace."

Conversely, the United States has dispatched an official diplomatic communication to Russia, requesting further details. The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged Russia to be transparent, emphasizing that "prompt, comprehensive, and transparent disclosure of information under the International Health Regulations is crucial to disentangle conflicting reports and facilitate an exact appraisal of probable public health threats."

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin affirmed that Russia's reporting of the incident to the WHO adheres to standard procedures, while accusing the media of disseminating "misinformation." Initial reports surfaced on Friday of nearly 200 individuals being monitored in Siberia's Irkutsk region following the worker's demise.

The laboratory employee, identified as Darya Shipilova in Russian media, reportedly fell ill a few days prior. Unverified reports suggested that she contracted the disease either after breaking a test tube containing the pathogen at the Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East where she labored, or during a field expedition to a region where plague naturally occurs among wild rodents.