Trump to speak to Putin about plague lab worker's death in Russia

What the report says

US President Donald Trump said he plans to speak soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the death of a laboratory worker at a plague research institute in Siberia, according to BBC World News. Trump said the two governments were already in deep discussions and that he expected to brief the public later in the week.

The BBC said Russian authorities are investigating the death of the 28-year-old worker, who was employed at the Anti-Plague Institute in Irkutsk. Officials have not confirmed that pneumonic plague caused the death, and Russia’s health watchdog said she died from pneumonia of undetermined cause. Russian officials also said people who had contact with her tested negative. Separate, unverified reports suggested she may have fallen ill after handling a test tube or after fieldwork in an area where plague exists naturally, but those details have not been confirmed.

The World Health Organization has called for timely and transparent information from Russia, saying clearer reporting is needed to assess any public health risk. The BBC noted that fears of pneumonic plague have raised concern because the infection can spread quickly and be severe if not treated early. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States had options to help if the situation proved more serious than Russia indicated.