US President Donald Trump has said he will speak with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin soon about the death of a lab worker at a plague research centre in Siberia.
“So far we are in very deep discussions,” Trump said, adding that he would be able to report on his talks with Putin “probably” on Thursday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no phone call had been scheduled.
Russian officials say they are investigating the cause of the 28-year-old’s death and have not confirmed that the suspected disease is pneumonic plague – a serious lung infection, often described as the most virulent form of plague.
They insist “there are no epidemic risks for the population”.
The US, however, has issued a formal diplomatic message to Russia requesting additional information. Peskov told reporters he was not aware of such a request.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for transparency from Russia.
“Timely, complete and transparent information sharing under the International Health Regulations is essential to clarify conflicting reports and enable an accurate assessment of potential public health risks,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said Russia’s reporting of the death to the WHO was in line with standard practice. He accused the media of reporting “false information”.
Reports first emerged on Friday of almost 200 people being placed under observation in Siberia’s Irkutsk region following the death.
The lab worker, named in Russian media as Darya Shipilova, had reportedly fallen ill a couple of days earlier.
Unconfirmed reports suggested that she had become ill after breaking a test tube containing the pathogen at the Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East where she worked – or following a field trip to a region where plague occurs naturally among wild rodents.
Credit: bbc.com
