US urges Russia to share more information on suspected plague lab death
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Abdullateef Fowewe
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called on Russia to provide greater transparency about the death of a laboratory worker at a Siberian plague research institute, saying Washington is closely monitoring the situation and has measures ready if it proves more serious than currently acknowledged.
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Speaking during a press conference on Tuesday in Reykjavik, Iceland, Rubio said, “We already have measures in place to be able to address it if it’s something more serious than what so far has been acknowledged. We encourage Russia to be transparent and share more information with the world so that all of us could react accordingly and appropriately.”
He added that the United States is watching developments “hour by hour.”
The comments follow the death last week of 28-year-old laboratory technician Darya Shipilova at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East.
She died after developing severe pneumonia of unknown aetiology.
Reports suggested a possible laboratory accident involving a broken test tube containing plague bacteria, though Russian authorities have disputed that account.
Russian health officials have said testing found no microorganisms linked to her work, described the epidemiological situation as stable, and told the World Health Organization that no plague cases have been recorded in Irkutsk.
Contacts of the worker nearly 200 people have been monitored or placed under observation, with authorities reporting no signs of the disease among them so far.
The WHO has assessed the risk as moderate-to-low in Irkutsk, low for Russia overall, and very low for the broader European region.
President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States would help Russia if needed, describing the situation as a “big problem for Russia.”
US agencies, including the State Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, continue to track the reports alongside international partners.
