Rubio Presses Russia for Details on 28-Year-Old Plague Lab Death
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Oct 6
Rubio Presses Russia for Details on 28-Year-Old Plague Lab Death
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Oct 6
Summary
Rubio said the United States is watching "hour by hour" after a 28-year-old worker died at a Siberian plague research center, urging Moscow to release more information on the case.
Russian officials said the woman died of pneumonia of undetermined cause, not a confirmed plague case, and told the WHO that no dangerous disease had been recorded in Irkutsk.
Nearly 200 people were placed under observation after the death, but authorities said all identified contacts tested negative for pneumonic plague and none had shown symptoms.
The case has triggered a U.S.-Russia exchange over possible assistance, while Russian officials denied online claims of special anti-plague measures and sought to calm speculation.