State Department requests additional information from Moscow on plague scare

The U.S. State Department has issued a formal diplomatic démarche to the Russian government requesting more information regarding the death of Daria Shipilova, a 28-year-old lab technician at the Anti-Plague Institute in Irkutsk, Siberia. While Russian health authorities (Rospotrebnadzor) maintain her death was due to 'pneumonia of undetermined etiology' and not the plague, the World Health Organization and U.S. officials are seeking transparency under International Health Regulations. President Trump indicated he would speak with President Putin soon, though the Kremlin stated no such call was scheduled. Neighboring countries have increased border surveillance as a precaution, while the CDC currently reports no evidence of a threat to the U.S.

The U.S. State Department has issued a formal diplomatic démarche to the Russian government requesting more information regarding the death of Daria Shipilova, a 28-year-old lab technician at the Anti-Plague Institute in Irkutsk, Siberia. While Russian health authorities (Rospotrebnadzor) maintain her death was due to 'pneumonia of undetermined etiology' and not the plague, the World Health Organization and U.S. officials are seeking transparency under International Health Regulations. President Trump indicated he would speak with President Putin soon, though the Kremlin stated no such call was scheduled. Neighboring countries have increased border surveillance as a precaution, while the CDC currently reports no evidence of a threat to the U.S.