Trump offers Putin lifeline as Russia scrambles to contain deadly airborne plague after lab worker's death
Donald Trump has offered to help Vladimir Putin as Russia scrambles to contain a suspected outbreak of deadly airborne plague in Siberia.
More than 200 people are under medical observation and four hospitals have been closed for a three-week quarantine in Irkutsk, a city near Russia's border with Mongolia, following the death of Daria Shipilova.
The 28-year-old lab technician reportedly fell ill after accidentally breaking a test tube containing plague bacteria at a Siberian research institute.
She spent days in hospital before passing away from 'pneumonia of unknown etiology', according to Russian officials.
But around 60 of her colleagues remain isolated in the institute amid fears that Ms Shipilova may have caught and died from pneumonic plague. Officials in Moscow have, however, been keen to downplay the risk of a widespread transmission.
Speaking on Monday, Trump revealed that the US will 'help' Russia cope with the outbreak of the disease.
He said: 'Well, we're looking at it very strongly. We just heard about it, and they call it pneumonia.
'And pneumonia, you know, years ago you could treat pneumonia easier. The microbes and the germs have gotten stronger disproportionately, but we'll help them.'
'The microbes and the germs have gotten stronger disproportionately, but we'll help them,' Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday afternoon
Putin's regime is seeking to downplay Shipilova's death on October 2, yet widespread suspicion of a state cover-up is rapidly spreading
Health officials pictured in the Irkutsk region wearing hazmat suits during the plague response, with a mask mandate also put in place
Lab worker Darya Shipilova, 28, died in Siberia of pneumonic plague after breaking a test tube
Pneumonic plague attacks the lungs and passes easily from person to person through respiratory particles, though it can be cured with antibiotics when treated promptly.
Russia's health watchdog claims expanded testing found no microorganisms linked to Shipilova's work and denies there was any accident at the institute.
Yet Alexei Tsydenov, the head of neighboring Buryatia, first confirmed she had died of plague before later claiming she only 'possibly' may hay have contracted the disease.
Authorities canceled public events in Irkutsk and law enforcement reportedly opened a criminal investigation into health safety violations. Amid the media frenzy, the regional Governor Igor Kobzev described the situation as stable.
Meanwhile, Marco Rubio said Monday that Washington is 'watching and monitoring it closely'.
Rubio admitted that while such a suspected outbreak could 'quickly spread' there was no immediate cause for concern, particularly because there are no direct commercial flights between the US and Russia.
'There's very limited travel between the US and Russia, obviously,' Rubio told reporters on Monday before traveling to Iceland.
'But like anything else, something like that gets out and could quickly spread. So we're watching and monitoring it closely.'
A researcher from Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute during a field trip
'I don't think it's cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause to just keep an eye on it. And we're doing that,' he added.
Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, and typically humans become infected through the bite of an infected host, such as a flea or animal.
While this flea-borne version usually targets the lymph nodes, the disease can also develop into pneumonic plague, the most serious form, which infects the lungs and can spread between people through respiratory droplets during close contact.
The disease is infamous for killing millions in Europe during the Middle Ages, when some estimates suggest it wiped out 30 to 60 percent of the continent's population, some 75 to 200 million people.
Plague is rare in the United States but can be deadly without prompt treatment. It can be treated with commonly used antibiotics, especially when treatment begins early, US officials said.
Up to five hospitals in and near Irkutsk are in 'epidemic' mode, according to reports, with hundreds of staff and patients not allowed to leave.
And nearby countries including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia, have tightened border health controls in the wake of the suspected outbreak.
Reports claim that drugs used to treat the disease are running out in the region, leaving terrified residents piling into pharmacies and medical facilities demanding supplies.
In its only comment on the case, the Kremlin said the public should only trust updates coming from the official health agency.
'One should rely on official statements from Rospotrebnadzor rather than listening to various rumors and speculation,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today.
The State Department said that it is monitoring the outbreak with the help of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other interagency partners.
A US official said in a statement: 'We encourage Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly... Plague is a known disease and is treatable with common antibiotics, especially when treatment starts early. Cases occur naturally in many parts of the world.'
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