Rubio Calls on Russia to Clarify Suspected Plague Case

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington is closely monitoring a suspected plague case in Russia’s Siberian region of Irkutsk and urged Moscow to provide more information, while cautioning against speculation about the illness’s origin.Rubio’s comments came a day after US President Donald Trump called the situation a “big problem” and said Washington was closely watching developments in Russia.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“I hate to see them having it,” Trump said Monday. “It’s a disease we used to be able to control, but somehow those microbes have gotten stronger and smarter, like an army.”Asked whether he was concerned about the disease spreading internationally through travel, Trump appeared to downplay the immediate risk, saying little travel was headed toward the affected area.During a joint press conference with Icelandic Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir in Reykjavík, Rubio was asked whether there was reason to suspect the incident involved the accidental release of an intentionally modified strain of plague developed by Russia, to which he cautioned against speculation.“It would be irresponsible for me here to sit and speculate because we just don’t have all the information yet,” Rubio said.He added Russia should “share more information with the world” so that other countries can better assess the situation and respond appropriately. 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We don’t know,” Rubio said, adding that the US and international agencies were monitoring developments “very closely, hour by hour.”Rubio told reporters that Washington already has measures in place to respond if the situation proves more serious than currently acknowledged, adding that Washington would continue monitoring the situation and again urged Russia to be transparent.“We encourage Russia to be transparent and share more information with the world,” he said, adding that any US decisions would depend on information still being gathered.His statements come after a laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East died after developing severe pneumonia.Russian health authorities have described the illness as pneumonia of “unknown origin” and said testing did not detect microorganisms associated with the woman’s work. They have also denied that any accident involving dangerous pathogens occurred at the facility.Unconfirmed Russian media reports have suggested that the woman may have been exposed to pneumonic plague while working at the institute. Reports have also said that nearly 200 people who may have had contact with her were placed under medical observation or isolation, while several medical facilities introduced precautionary measures.The reports have drawn particular scrutiny because the woman worked at a facility dedicated to studying plague and other dangerous pathogens.US experts raise questions over Russian responseFormer White House COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told CNN that the circumstances surrounding the death raised “a lot of red flags,” pointing to reports of widespread monitoring measures and the involvement of Russia’s security services.Jha also pointed to the institute’s history and Russia’s alleged offensive biological-weapons program, saying the combination of factors warranted closer scrutiny.He stressed, however, that there was no confirmed evidence that the researcher had been exposed to a weaponized pathogen.CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner likewise urged caution, saying there was still no independent confirmation that the woman died from plague or clarity about how she became infected.“It’s hard to know until we have more information,” Reiner said, warning against jumping to conclusions about either a major outbreak or an insignificant incident.Russian opposition figure and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov also questioned Moscow’s account, arguing that the Kremlin’s history of withholding information made its statements difficult to trust.He suggested the laboratory could have links to military biological research but provided no direct evidence connecting the woman’s death to a weapons program.The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that, based on information available to it, the public health risk to the general population appears to be low.Pneumonic plague is a severe form of plague that can spread through respiratory droplets. Unlike during historical outbreaks, the disease can be treated effectively with antibiotics when detected early. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.