Russia plague scare puts US on watch as Rubio flags possible internal spread

US monitors suspected plague case in Russian lab worker amid fears of internal spread, says Rubio

The United States is closely monitoring a suspected plague infection involving a laboratory worker in Russia amid concerns that the disease may have spread internally, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said, while stressing that Washington's information on the case is based on details provided by Russian officials.Rubio made the remarks while speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews before departing for a European visit. He said the US was aware of the case through information provided by Russian officials and was closely watching the situation over concerns that the infection could have spread internally.

Rubio said the information available to Washington indicated that a worker at a Russian laboratory had been infected and that there was concern the infection may have spread within the facility.“We don't - we know what we know, obviously, about whatever the Russians have provided, which is it seems that there was a worker at the lab that was infected, and there's concern that that could have spread, at least internally,” he said.Rubio also indicated that quarantine measures had been taken in connection with the incident, although he did not provide details about the number of people affected or whether any internal transmission had been confirmed.

He noted that travel between the US and Russia was currently limited, but said an infection that escapes its initial setting could spread quickly. “There's very limited travel between the US and Russia, obviously. But like anything else, something like that gets out, it could quickly spread,” he said.The remarks came after a laboratory worker at Russia's Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute died following pneumonia of unknown origin, prompting quarantine and medical monitoring of her contacts.

Russian authorities have not confirmed plague as the cause of death, although reports have raised the possibility of pneumonic plague.Reports also alleged that the worker may have been exposed to plague bacteria in a laboratory incident, but Russian authorities have denied evidence of an accident involving dangerous pathogens. Authorities have identified the known contacts and reported no new cases among institute staff.There is also no confirmation that the worker had pneumonic plague or that human-to-human transmission occurred.