US President Donald Trump said Tuesday (local time) that he has a call scheduled with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a possible case of plague at a research institute in Siberia, as Russian health authorities continue investigating the death of an employee.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he expected to speak to Putin “very soon” about the case. “We’ll be able to report about it, probably tomorrow,” he added, The Associated Press reported.
The development comes after an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia died last week. Russian authorities have attributed her death to pneumonia of an unknown cause, while health officials investigate whether it could be linked to plague.
Deep Dive
What are the symptoms of pneumonic plague?
Why did concerns about pneumonic plague arise in Russia recently?
How did Russian authorities respond to the suspected pneumonic plague case?
The US President was asked what the country's intelligence community was saying, to which he said, Washington was in “very deep discussions” over the situation.
US willing to help Russia
Earlier on Monday, Trump said that the US would be willing to assist Russia if needed.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier on Monday, Trump said that the US would be willing to assist Russia if needed.
{{/usCountry}}“It’s a rough disease. You know, that’s a disease we used to be able to control, but somehow those microbes have gotten stronger and smarter. They’re like an army,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Risk outside Russia ‘very low’: WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday that the risk posed by the case outside Russia is “very low”. The UN health agency said it was in contact with Russian authorities following reports of the woman's death.
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WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier also sought to draw a distinction between the case and the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There is currently no indication that we are dealing with anything similar to the pandemic," Lindmeier told The Associated Press.
The case has nevertheless revived memories of the Covid-19 pandemic and the debate over its origins, including allegations that the coronavirus may have emerged from a laboratory in China. WHO has not reached a definitive conclusion on how the pandemic began.
What is pneumonic plague?
Pneumonic plague is a form of plague that affects the lungs and is considered the most virulent form of the disease. According to WHO, its incubation period can be as short as 24 hours.
Unlike the more common bubonic plague, pneumonic plague can spread between people through respiratory particles. It can be fatal if left untreated, although recovery rates are high when the disease is detected and treated promptly, a report in AP said.
Talking about the symptoms, the report added that its can include coughing up blood and shortness of breath.
Bubonic plague, meanwhile, is usually caused by the bite of an infected flea and can lead to swollen lymph nodes and open sores filled with pus.
What Russian officials have said
Russian health officials said Tuesday that a broad set of preventive measures had been completed, including contact tracing, medical monitoring and laboratory testing.
“Test results showed no presence of dangerous infectious disease pathogens in any of the contacts,” Russian authorities said in a note relayed to AP by WHO.
"Based on available data, laboratory test results, and health status, medical monitoring for 100% of the contacts has now been concluded," it said. “The epidemiological situation is stable and remains under monitoring.”
The woman died at a hospital in Shelekhov, a town near Irkutsk. The town's mayor said the hospital was placed under quarantine.
Senior officials from Russia's national public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, travelled to the region on Friday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday urged people to rely on official information from Rospotrebnadzor instead of “rumors or speculation” as the investigation continues.
(With AP inputs )