Trump admin struggles to get answers from Russia on potential plague death

Mark Schiefelbein/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

The Trump administration is struggling to get clear answers about the death of a Russian laboratory worker at an institute dedicated to studying the plague, amid days of stonewalling from Russian officials about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the episode.

The death of the technician at the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia immediately raised alarms throughout the administration, prompting a race to compile intel and plot for a potential public health response, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

But Russia’s reluctance to share information about the incident has complicated those efforts, leaving officials uncertain what broader risks it could pose — and how exactly to defend the US against them.

“It’s incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday . “Maybe it’s bigger than we thought. We don’t know, but I think it would be reckless at this moment, given the limited information we still have, to speculate.”

US officials were in touch with the Russian government as early as last Friday, a State Department official said, including contact between the department’s health experts and the Russian Foreign Ministry. And that outreach has continued, an administration official said, as Rubio expressed hope Tuesday that the limited information sharing “will change in the next few hours and days.”

President Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House Tuesday afternoon that he had “call scheduled” to speak with Russian leader Vladimir Putin about the issue “very soon.” He added US agencies would have more information to report “probably tomorrow.”

But the US has gotten limited cooperation so far. What little information has come out of Russia has faced deep skepticism, with officials unconvinced that the Kremlin is being fully forthcoming, according to people familiar with the situation.

Still, until the administration knows more through intelligence collection and diplomatic outreach, officials are not taking steps such as putting travel restrictions into place to prevent any potential spread, according to a US official. The US already advises against travel to Russia due to various factors, including the possibility of wrongful detention and the war with Ukraine.

Among the critical questions still outstanding: whether the 28-year-old lab worker who died last week contracted pneumonic plague — a severe but treatable infection — or another, unknown infectious disease. Staff at the Anti-Plague Institute study a range of other dangerous diseases, including cholera, anthrax and brucellosis, according to the institute’s website .

US officials have also sought details on whether the disease was modified in any way, a process called gain of function that could dramatically alter the way the US and other countries might respond.

Rubio and other Trump officials have publicly downplayed the immediate threat to Americans, emphasizing that the administration is closely monitoring the situation and that pneumonic plague is treatable with antibiotics.

But behind the scenes, there is deep unease within the administration over the continued lack of insight, the people familiar with the situation said. Compounding those concerns is the Russian government’s outsized response, including quarantining the hospital where the lab worker was treated, according to the mayor of the Shelekhovsky district. Nearly 200 people are under observation , a regional news outlet reported.

“We don’t know a lot right now about what actually happened,” said one US official. “But one thing most of us feel certain about: The Russians are going to act like the Chinese did with Covid. They won’t be forthcoming.”

Still, Trump on Monday characterized the situation as a “big problem” for Russia, suggesting that the US might need to provide some unspecified level of aid.

In a statement, a State Department spokesperson said that several federal agencies were “closely monitoring the fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague,” but that many of the details surrounding it remained unconfirmed. They reiterated that Americans have long been advised not to travel to Russia for any reason.

“We encourage Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly,” the spokesperson said.

In the days since the lab worker’s death, the National Security Council and State Department officials have led the administration’s push to gather information, piece together what happened and evaluate the potential risks, officials and others familiar with the situation said. Federal health agencies, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, have also been involved in the cross-government effort.

A source familiar with the outreach said Trump officials have also backchanneled with the World Health Organization — the international health body that Trump pulled funding from soon after taking office, but that the government has continued to communicate with in emergency situations.

WHO said Monday that it was in contact with Russian authorities to verify details about the lab worker’s death, though it has so far also received little information.

“If they’re not transparent, if they’re not open to independent accountability, how is it possible to trust the Kremlin is telling us the full and accurate information?” said Lawrence Gostin, a global health law professor at Georgetown University who has worked closely with WHO. “Clearly, on its face, the lab was conducting extremely high-risk research and using shoddy biosafety measures.”

The Anti-Plague Institute’s relatively remote location in eastern Russia, combined with the pneumonic plague’s limited ability to quickly spread, has given health experts some comfort that any immediate threat can be contained.

Pneumonic plague is a bacterial infection , unlike the highly transmissible coronavirus strain that sparked the 2020 pandemic. And while the plague is fatal if untreated, there are now effective and widely available antibiotics to treat it.

While there is little indication that the incident will touch off another global health crisis, officials and outside experts said it has nevertheless reinforced how difficult it can be to monitor and prepare for potential biological threats.

The CDC may have the medical stockpile necessary to combat conventional pneumonic plague, those officials and experts said. But there’s little certainty whether it could do the same against a modified version — or how long it would take to develop a treatment if needed.

Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiology professor and director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health, said the episode also comes as health response capabilities both in the US and globally have been diminished by funding cuts and the strain of responding to other crises. WHO has proposed slashing its budget following a $600 million shortfall triggered by the US’ exit.

America’s ability to handle a new public health response, meanwhile, “is severely diminished” amid its efforts to combat measles outbreaks, she said.

“We are talking about a very depleted system. God forbid you layer another pathogen onto the already laborious and difficult work of going after measles,” said Nuzzo. “That would be a nightmare.”

马克·席费尔宾/Pool/法新社/盖蒂图片社

特朗普政府正努力从俄罗斯官员那里获得关于一名俄罗斯实验室工作人员在专门研究鼠疫的研究所死亡的明确答案，而俄罗斯官员连日来一直对围绕这一神秘事件的情况保持沉默。

据多位知情人士透露，西伯利亚伊尔库茨克抗疫研究所一名技术人员的死亡立即引起了政府各部门的警觉，促使他们争分夺秒地收集情报，并制定可能的公共卫生应对措施。

但俄罗斯不愿分享有关该事件的信息，使这些努力变得复杂，令官员们不确定它可能带来的更广泛的风险，以及如何才能真正保护美国免受这些​​风险的影响。

“俄罗斯显然有义务与世界分享更多信息，”国务卿马可·卢比奥周二表示。“也许情况比我们想象的要严重。我们不知道，但鉴于我们目前掌握的信息有限，我认为现在妄加猜测是鲁莽的。”

美国国务院一位官员表示，早在上周五，美国官员就已与俄罗斯政府取得联系，其中包括国务院卫生专家与俄罗斯外交部的沟通。一位政府官员称，这种沟通仍在继续。周二，卢比奥表示，他希望目前有限的信息共享“在未来几个小时或几天内有所改变”。

周二下午，唐纳德·特朗普总统在白宫外告诉记者，他已安排“很快”与俄罗斯领导人弗拉基米尔·普京就此事通话。他还补充说，美国各机构“可能明天”会公布更多信息。

但迄今为止，美国获得的合作十分有限。据知情人士透露，俄罗斯方面透露的信息少之又少，且饱受质疑，官员们并不相信克里姆林宫会完全坦诚相待。

不过，据一位美国官员透露，在政府通过情报收集和外交途径掌握更多信息之前，官员们不会采取诸如实施旅行限制等措施来防止疫情扩散。美国已经建议民众不要前往俄罗斯，原因包括可能被错误拘留以及与乌克兰的战争等。

一些关键问题仍悬而未决：上周去世的那位28岁的实验室工作人员究竟是感染了肺鼠疫（一种严重但可治疗的传染病），还是感染了其他未知的传染病。据该研究所网站介绍，抗鼠疫研究所的工作人员还研究其他一系列危险疾病，包括霍乱、炭疽和布鲁氏菌病。

美国官员还寻求了解该疾病是否以任何方式发生改变的细节，这一过程被称为功能获得，可能会极大地改变美国和其他国家应对疫情的方式。

鲁比奥和其他特朗普政府官员公开淡化了对美国人的直接威胁，强调政府正在密切关注局势，并表示肺鼠疫可以用抗生素治疗。

但据知情人士透露，政府内部对持续缺乏有效信息深感不安。雪上加霜的是，俄罗斯政府采取了过度反应，包括隔离了实验室工作人员接受治疗的医院。谢列霍夫斯基区区长表示，近200人正在接受观察。

一位美国官员表示：“我们现在对实际发生的事情了解不多。但我们大多数人确信一点：俄罗斯人会像中国人对待新冠疫情那样行事。他们不会坦诚相待。”

不过，特朗普周一仍将这种情况描述为俄罗斯的“大问题”，暗示美国可能需要提供一定程度的援助，但并未具体说明援助金额。

美国国务院发言人在一份声明中表示，多个联邦机构正在“密切关注这起疑似肺鼠疫的致命病例”，但许多细节仍未得到证实。他们重申，长期以来，美国公民一直被建议不要以任何理由前往俄罗斯。

发言人表示：“我们鼓励俄罗斯当局迅速、公开地分享准确信息。”

据知情人士透露，自实验室工作人员死亡以来，国家安全委员会和国务院官员牵头，领导政府开展信息收集、事件真相调查和潜在风险评估工作。包括美国疾病控制与预防中心和战略防备与响应管理局在内的联邦卫生机构也参与了这项跨政府合作。

一位熟悉相关情况的消息人士称，特朗普政府官员还与世界卫生组织（特朗普上任后不久就停止向其提供资金的国际卫生机构）进行了非正式沟通，但美国政府在紧急情况下仍继续与其保持联系。

世界卫生组织周一表示，已与俄罗斯当局联系，核实有关这名实验室工作人员死亡的细节，但迄今为止，他们也几乎没有收到任何信息。

“如果他们不透明，不接受独立问责，我们怎么能相信克里姆林宫告诉我们的是完整准确的信息呢？”乔治城大学全球卫生法教授劳伦斯·戈斯汀说道，他曾与世卫组织密切合作。“很明显，从表面上看，该实验室正在进行风险极高的研究，而且生物安全措施也十分简陋。”

抗鼠疫研究所位于俄罗斯东部相对偏远的地区，加上肺鼠疫传播速度有限，这让卫生专家们感到些许安慰，认为任何迫在眉睫的威胁都可以得到控制。

肺鼠疫是由细菌感染引起的，这与引发2020年大流行的传染性极强的冠状病毒毒株不同。虽然肺鼠疫如不治疗会致命，但现在已有有效且广泛使用的抗生素可以治疗它。

虽然几乎没有迹象表明此次事件会引发另一场全球健康危机，但官员和外部专家表示，这仍然凸显了监测和防范潜在生物威胁的难度。

这些官员和专家表示，疾控中心或许拥有应对传统肺鼠疫所需的医疗储备。但对于变异型鼠疫，疾控中心是否也能做到这一点，以及如果需要研发治疗方法需要多长时间，目前尚无定论。

布朗大学公共卫生学院流行病学教授兼大流行病中心主任詹妮弗·努佐表示，此次事件发生之际，美国乃至全球的卫生应对能力都因资金削减和应对其他危机的压力而下降。世界卫生组织已提议大幅削减预算，此前由于美国退出世卫组织，其预算出现了6亿美元的缺口。

她表示，与此同时，由于美国正努力应对麻疹疫情，其应对新的公共卫生事件的能力“严重下降”。

“我们现在面对的是一个非常脆弱的系统。千万别在已经十分艰巨的麻疹防治工作上再增加另一种病原体，”努佐说。“那简直是噩梦。”