Axios: White House is monitoring suspected plague outbreak in Russia

The White House has been monitoring reports of a suspected case of plague and related quarantine measures in Russia.

Source: Axios, citing an official from US President Donald Trump's administration

Details: Russian health authorities have taken precautionary measures following the death of a woman who worked at a centre for plague research and control, but have not confirmed that she contracted the disease.

The Axios source said that Trump's administration "is aware, monitoring the outbreak, and assessing options".

According to local Russian media outlets, on 25 September, 28-year-old Daria Shipilova, who worked at a plague research institute in Russia's Irkutsk Oblast, broke a test tube containing the pathogen that causes pneumonic plague.

On 29 September, Shipilova was hospitalised with symptoms of severe pneumonia and died on the night of 1-2 October.

Following her death, the authorities imposed a quarantine at several medical facilities in the oblast and placed nearly 200 people who had been in contact with Shipilova under medical supervision.

Irkutsk Oblast Governor Igor Kobzev said that those under observation had shown no signs of the illness and that their test results were negative.

Russian media outlets speculated that Shipilova may have contracted pneumonic plague, but the health authorities did not confirm this diagnosis.

The Russian Health Ministry said that Shipilova had "pneumonia of unknown etiology" and that further tests had not detected any microorganisms associated with her work. The ministry added that the epidemiological situation in the oblast remains stable.

Axios noted that, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, plague is a potentially life-threatening bacterial disease, but it can be cured with timely antibiotic treatment.

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