The United States is “watching very closely” the situation involving pneumonic plague in Russia, where an employee of the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East died a few days ago. President Donald Trump said this, BBC reports.
Earlier, a similar statement was made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump added that the US is ready to help Russia on this matter.
Journalists asked the American president whether he intended to do anything because of the risk of Russia spreading pneumonic plague. Donald Trump said he had not spoken with Moscow about the issue.
“I’m sorry to see this has happened to them. We will help. We will always help anyone who has a problem like this,” he said.
Officially, Russia has not stated that the laboratory assistant’s death was linked to plague. It was said that she died of pneumonia of unknown origin. According to Russian media, about 200 people who had contact with the deceased scientist have been placed under medical supervision.
“If something like this leaks out, it can spread quickly. So we are watching and monitoring closely. I don’t think this is a reason to sound the alarm, but it is a reason to focus and be vigilant about it, and that is what we are doing,” Marco Rubio commented on the incident.
Pneumonic plague is treated with antibiotics, but without treatment it can be fatal.