Trump administration monitoring suspected Russian plague outbreak

The Trump administration is monitoring a suspected case of the plague in Russia, the State Department told The Hill’s sister network NewsNation.

“We are aware of ​reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. We are monitoring the situation closely with the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)] and our other interagency partners,” the department said in a statement to NewsNation.

“Many details have not been confirmed. We encourage Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly,” the official continued. “Plague is a known disease and is treatable with common antibiotics, especially when treatment starts early. Cases occur naturally in many parts of the world.”

NBC News reported Monday that in Siberia, around 200 people were facing medical observation in the wake of a 28-year-old lab worker — possibly exposed to the pneumonic plague — dying, local media reported.

On Sunday, the Russian consumer welfare service said the 28-year-old, who worked at an institute combating the plague in Irkutsk, died due to “pneumonia of unknown etiology,” NBC News reported. However, a specific cause of death has not been given by Russian authorities.

According to the CDC, pneumonic plague “is a rare and often fatal disease that can be transmitted by respiratory droplets from animals or persons infected with Yersinia pestis bacteria.”