“Pneumonic plague? Fake news. Everything is under control.” Russia denies that a woman died of pneumonic plague in the Irkutsk region. Meanwhile, Donald Trump pledges U.S. support for efforts to prevent any potential outbreaks: “We will help them.” The case concerns the death of Daria Shipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory employee, who died of “pneumonia of undetermined etiology,” according to Rospotrebnadzor, the national public health agency.
“Among people who had contact with the woman diagnosed with pneumonia in the Irkutsk region,” about 200 according to local media, “two cases of COVID and rhinovirus were detected. Monitoring of 60% of those who had contact with the woman has been completed. The incidence rate of acute respiratory infections in the Irkutsk region is 12.6% below the epidemic threshold and aligns with multi-year averages. Around 16,000 cases of acute respiratory infection are recorded each week in the Irkutsk region; in the last two weeks there has been no upward trend. The sanitary-epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region is calm,” the agency said, denying “unfounded reports that an employee of the anti-plague institute in the Irkutsk region was diagnosed with plague. Rospotrebnadzor reported that the person was found to have pneumonia of undetermined etiology.”
This position clearly matches the Kremlin’s line. “Do not listen to rumors and speculation. Rospotrebnadzor employs highly qualified people in this field. We follow what they say,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. As expected, there is no official confirmation that a vial containing bacteria broke in the laboratory where Shipilova worked or that, according to other versions, the researcher had just returned from a mission in Buryatia, where an outbreak has been reported.
Trump: “U.S. ready to help Russia”
Reporters at the White House raised the issue with Trump as he prepared to leave for another campaign rally ahead of the midterm elections. “We are studying the situation very carefully; we have just become aware of it,” Trump said, expressing some concern. “I hate to see someone dealing with a complicated illness. They talk about pneumonia; bacteria and germs have gotten stronger. We’ll help them, we’ll help as best we can,” he added. “It’s a disease we were used to controlling. But somehow those microbes have become stronger and smarter, they’re like an army. We will help Russia,” Trump said. Earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio remarked: “There is no reason for alarm.” “Travel between the United States and Russia is obviously very limited, but, as with anything else, if something like this were to leave the laboratory it could spread quickly,” the top U.S. diplomat said. “We are observing and monitoring the situation closely. I don’t think there is cause for alarm, but it’s something to focus on and keep under control. And that’s what we are doing.”
Read also