Trump to Speak With Putin on Suspected Russian Plague Incident... WHO Says 'Risk Is Low'

Secretary of State Marco Rubio Also Urges Disclosure
U.S. CDC: "Closely Monitoring the Situation... No Signs of Threat"

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that he plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon regarding a fatal plague infection that occurred in Russia. As concerns about a potential plague outbreak increase, the U.S. government has called on Russia to release information. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has currently assessed the public health risk as low.

According to Bloomberg News on the 6th (local time), President Trump responded to a reporter’s question about whether he had spoken with President Putin by saying, "Very soon." He added, "(U.S. intelligence agencies) are having very in-depth discussions. I will probably be able to report on this tomorrow."

On the 6th (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a speech at the Anduril Industries event held at Tradepoint Atlantic in Sparrows Point, Maryland, USA. Sparrows Point, USA=EPA Yonhap News. Photo by EPA

The U.S. government is requesting that Russia disclose information about the circumstances of the incident and whether there have been any additional infections. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also emphasized to reporters during his visit to Iceland that "Russia has a clear obligation to share more information with the world."

However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that there is currently no significant threat. The CDC said on its official social networking account that it is closely monitoring media coverage, adding, "No cases have been confirmed, but plague can be treated with antibiotics. There is no indication of a widespread threat to the United States at this time."

The WHO has also assessed that the public health risk from this incident remains low. Christian Lindmeier, a spokesperson for the WHO, announced at a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, that "based on the initial risk assessment of current information, the risk in the Irkutsk region is moderate to low, the risk for all of Russia is low, and for Europe, very low."

Some have raised questions about the nature of research conducted at the ‘Russian Siberian Plague Institute,’ where the fatal infection occurred. U.S. online media Axios reported that it needs to be clarified whether the incident emerged from routine plague research or from research related to biological weapons development. However, so far, there is no evidence that the deceased researcher was involved in any such research.

Russian authorities maintain that the situation is stable. According to AFP, Russia informed the WHO that "medical monitoring of all contacts has ended" and "none of the contacts have shown infection from any dangerous pathogens."

The incident reportedly occurred at the Plague Prevention Research Institute in Irkutsk, Russia, on September 25. According to local media, a 28-year-old female researcher broke a test tube containing the plague pathogen and was hospitalized with severe pneumonia symptoms on the 29th; she died between October 1 and 2.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.