Trump to speak to Putin on plague as US, UN urge transparency

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would speak very soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin about a reported plague-related death at a research institute in Siberia. The United States and the United Nations urged Moscow to provide transparent information, while Russian authorities said the woman died of pneumonia of undetermined cause and denied confirmed plague cases in Irkutsk. The WHO said the risk to the general population was moderate to low.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Russia should share complete information so authorities could assess the potential public health risk appropriately.

Russian officials said postmortem tests found no microorganisms linked to the woman’s professional work, and no other institute staff had sought medical care since her death.

Russian media identified the deceased woman as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova and reported that as many as 200 contacts may have been quarantined.

The US State Department reportedly sent Moscow a confidential diplomatic communication warning that withholding details could violate international health obligations.

An international conference on plague and other infectious diseases is scheduled in Irkutsk for October 21-22, although organizers said it is unrelated to the employee’s death.

Published Oct 7, 2026 9:55 am KST

A satellite image shows the Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East in Irkutsk, Russia, May 8, 2025. Reuters-Yonhap

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would speak very soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the reported plague death of a laboratory technician, as Washington and the United Nations called for transparency from Moscow.

Russian authorities denied that they were imposing anti-plague measures and played down the reports of an incident at a plague research institute in Siberia's Irkutsk region last week.

But Washington is showing growing concern, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling on Russia to be open about the situation. The World Health Organization issued a similar appeal Tuesday.

"We encourage Russia to be transparent and share more information with the world so that all of us could react accordingly and appropriately," Rubio said during a trip to Iceland.

Trump later said he would be speaking to Putin about what happened.

"I have a call scheduled, yes," Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if he had spoken to Putin on the issue yet, adding that it would happen "very soon."

Asked what US intelligence agencies were saying about the situation, Trump added: "We're in very deep discussions. We'll be able to report on it probably tomorrow."

The Wall Street Journal reported that the US State Department had sent Russia a confidential diplomatic communication, known as a demarche, warning Moscow that failure to disclose details runs counter to its international health obligations.

Cause of death 'undetermined'

Russian news outlet People of Baikal reported Friday that the dead woman -- named as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova -- may have contracted pneumonic plague from a broken test tube.

Other media reported a possible link between her death and a lab accident at the facility.

The People of Baikal outlet also said up to 200 people with whom she may have had contact were under quarantine.

But Russian authorities say the cause of death is not confirmed and health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has denied claims circulating in a document online that special measures had been put in place.

"We wish to clarify that the document and information in question do not originate from official sources and are untrue," it said on Telegram.

Russian officials said postmortem tests had not detected the disease.

Irkutsk Regional Governor Igor Kobzev said Monday that a Rospotrebnadzor inspection had found the woman died of pneumonia and the cause was "undetermined."

"No microorganisms linked to the young woman's professional work were found in her biological samples," he said, adding that no other staff at the institute had sought medical attention since her death.

The World Health Organization said that an update received Tuesday from Russia stressed that "no case of this dangerous disease has been recorded in the city of Irkutsk."

But its director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus later urged Moscow to be transparent, saying the WHO had "requested further information" on the cause of the pneumonia case and other details.

"Timely, complete and transparent information sharing under the International Health Regulations is essential to clarify conflicting reports and enable an accurate assessment of potential public health risks," he wrote on X.

'Moderate to low' risk

Plague is a bacterial disease that can occur in several forms, including pneumonic plague, which is the most contagious type and can be transmitted by respiratory means. Bubonic plague is transmitted by infected fleas.

Pneumonic plague, which causes lung failure, can be fatal if not treated early, according to WHO.

Trump said Monday he was ready to help Russia if needed.

But in an apparent response to Trump's offer, the Russian watchdog said Tuesday that Moscow was prepared to assist the United States in combating its own outbreaks of infectious diseases.

It highlighted a "significantly worsened" measles situation in three US states, and a "fatal case of plague" recorded in New Mexico in June, among other things.

Measles cases have increased under the Trump administration, in which vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr serves as health secretary.

Meanwhile an international conference on plague and other infectious diseases will be held in Irkutsk on October 21-22, although organizers said it was "unrelated to the recent death of an employee of the anti-plague institute."

美国总统特朗普周二表示，他将很快与俄罗斯总统普京就西伯利亚一家研究所报告的鼠疫相关死亡事件进行通话。美国和联合国敦促莫斯科提供透明的信息，而俄罗斯当局则表示，该名女性死于不明原因的肺炎，并否认伊尔库茨克存在确诊的鼠疫病例。世界卫生组织表示，对普通人群的风险为中低。

美国国务卿马可·卢比奥表示，俄罗斯应该分享完整的信息，以便当局能够适当地评估潜在的公共卫生风险。

俄罗斯官员表示，尸检结果显示，没有发现与该女子职业相关的微生物，而且自她去世以来，该研究所的其他工作人员也没有寻求医疗救助。

俄罗斯媒体确认死者为 28 岁的达里娅·希皮洛娃，并报道称可能有多达 200 名接触者已被隔离。

据报道，美国国务院向莫斯科发出了一份机密外交函件，警告称隐瞒细节可能违反国际卫生义务。

10月21日至22日，伊尔库茨克将召开一次关于鼠疫和其他传染病的国际会议，但组织者表示，这与该员工的死亡无关。

发布于2026年10月7日上午9:55（韩国标准时间）

2025年5月8日，卫星图像显示了位于俄罗斯伊尔库茨克的西伯利亚和远东防瘟疫研究所。（路透社-韩联社）

华盛顿——美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周二表示，他将很快与俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京就一名实验室技术人员死于鼠疫一事进行通话。与此同时，华盛顿和联合国呼吁莫斯科保持透明。

俄罗斯当局否认他们正在实施防疫措施，并淡化了上周西伯利亚伊尔库茨克地区一家鼠疫研究所发生的事件报道。

但华盛顿方面日益担忧，国务卿马可·卢比奥呼吁俄罗斯公开透明地说明情况。世界卫生组织周二也发出了类似的呼吁。

鲁比奥在访问冰岛期间表示：“我们鼓励俄罗斯保持透明，与世界分享更多信息，以便我们所有人都能做出相应的适当反应。”

特朗普后来表示，他将就此事与普京进行沟通。

当被问及是否已就此事与普京交谈时，特朗普在白宫告诉记者：“是的，我已经安排了通话。”他还补充说，通话“很快就会进行”。

当被问及美国情报机构对此事的看法时，特朗普补充说：“我们正在进行非常深入的讨论。我们可能明天就能公布结果。”

《华尔街日报》报道称，美国国务院向俄罗斯发出了一份机密外交照会（即外交照会），警告莫斯科，不披露细节违反了其国际卫生义务。

死因“未确定”

俄罗斯新闻媒体“贝加尔人民”周五报道称，死者达里娅·希皮洛娃（Darya Shipilova），28岁，可能因接触破损的试管而感染肺鼠疫。

其他媒体报道称，她的死可能与该实验室发生的事故有关。

《贝加尔湖人报》还表示，可能有多达 200 人与她有过接触，目前正在隔离。

但俄罗斯当局表示，死因尚未确定，卫生监管机构俄罗斯消费者权益保护和福利监督局否认了网上流传的一份文件中有关已采取特殊措施的说法。

“我们想澄清，相关文件和信息并非来自官方渠道，而且是不真实的，”该机构在 Telegram 上表示。

俄罗斯官员表示，尸检并未发现该疾病。

伊尔库茨克州州长伊戈尔·科布泽夫周一表示，俄罗斯联邦消费者权益保护和福利监督局的调查发现，该女子死于肺炎，但死因“尚未确定”。

他说：“在她的生物样本中没有发现与这位年轻女性的职业工作相关的微生物”，并补充说，自她去世以来，该研究所的其他工作人员也没有寻求医疗救助。

世界卫生组织表示，周二从俄罗斯收到的最新消息强调，“伊尔库茨克市尚未发现这种危险疾病的病例”。

但世卫组织总干事谭德塞后来敦促莫斯科保持透明，称世卫组织已“要求提供更多信息”，以了解肺炎病例的原因和其他细节。

“根据《国际卫生条例》，及时、完整、透明地共享信息对于澄清相互矛盾的报告以及准确评估潜在的公共卫生风险至关重要，”他在 X 上写道。

中低风险

鼠疫是一种细菌性疾病，可分为多种类型，其中包括传染性最强的肺鼠疫，可通过呼吸道传播。腺鼠疫则由受感染的跳蚤传播。

世界卫生组织表示，肺鼠疫会导致肺衰竭，如果不及时治疗可能会致命。

特朗普周一表示，如有必要，他准备帮助俄罗斯。

但俄罗斯监管机构周二表示，莫斯科已准备好协助美国应对本国的传染病疫情，这显然是对特朗普提议的回应。

报告重点指出，美国三个州的麻疹疫情“明显恶化”，以及6月份新墨西哥州记录的一例“致命鼠疫病例”。

在特朗普政府执政期间，麻疹病例有所增加，而对疫苗持怀疑态度的罗伯特·F·肯尼迪二世担任卫生部长。

与此同时，一场关于鼠疫和其他传染病的国际会议将于 10 月 21 日至 22 日在伊尔库茨克举行，尽管组织者表示，这“与最近一名抗鼠疫研究所员工的死亡无关”。