Trump to Speak With Putin About Possible Pneumonic Plague Case in Russia
President Donald Trump says he plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin "very soon" about a suspected case of pneumonic plague in Siberia, as U.S. officials press Moscow for answers.
The possible case involves a worker at a Russian research institute that studies the disease. She died last week, and Russian authorities have not confirmed what killed her.
What Trump Said
Trump told reporters he has a call scheduled with Putin to discuss the case. "We'll be able to report about it, probably tomorrow," he said, according to Boston.com.
He said the U.S. intelligence community is in "very deep discussions" about the situation. Trump also indicated the U.S. would offer help and described the threat as serious, saying germs have "gotten stronger and smarter."
A State Department spokesman said officials are "closely monitoring the fatal case" and called on Moscow to "share accurate information quickly and openly." The U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued a health alert on Tuesday.
What We Know About the Case
The woman, a 28-year-old employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, died last week. Russian officials said she died of "pneumonia of undetermined origin."
Russia has not confirmed that plague caused her death. Authorities said testing "found no microorganisms in her body linked to her work," Fox News reported.
The institute specializes in studying plague and other dangerous infections, which is why the case has drawn so much attention.
Several Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, have stepped up health precautions in response to the reports. Russian officials have not publicly named the woman.
Health Officials Say the Risk Is Low
The World Health Organization said it is in contact with Russian authorities and assessed "the risk to the general population as low." The agency described the risk of the disease spreading outside Russia as "very low."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said "there is currently no indication of a broader threat to the United States."
What Is Pneumonic Plague?
Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, the same germ behind the Black Death that killed millions of people in Europe in the 1300s. It is usually spread to people through bites from infected fleas carried by rodents.
Pneumonic plague is the most serious form. It infects the lungs and is the only type that can spread directly from person to person through respiratory droplets, such as when someone coughs.
Symptoms can include fever, headache, weakness and a fast-developing pneumonia with chest pain, cough and shortness of breath. Without quick treatment, pneumonic plague is often fatal, but it can be treated with common antibiotics if caught early. Doctors typically use drugs such as streptomycin, gentamicin or doxycycline, and close contacts of a patient may be given antibiotics as a precaution.
Plague still appears in parts of the world, including the western United States, which sees an average of about seven human cases a year, according to the CDC. Most are the bubonic form, which causes painful swollen lymph nodes. Last year, a California resident tested positive for plague after a camping trip, and doctors have also documented rare cases of plague spreading from infected cats to their owners.
A Tense Time for U.S.-Russia Relations
The call would come at a sensitive moment. Trump noted the administration faces an October 18 deadline on possible sanctions against Russian entities under recently signed legislation. Neither the White House nor the Kremlin has announced an exact time for the call.
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