Trump Plans to Discuss Plague-Related Death in Siberia with Putin

U.S. President Donald Trump plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin "very soon"; one of the topics will be the death of a laboratory worker in Siberia, suspected to have been caused by the plague.

Trump announced this while speaking to reporters at the White House. When asked when the conversation would take place, he replied that it would happen "very soon."

According to Trump, U.S. intelligence agencies are engaged in "very deep discussions" with Russia regarding the incident, and additional information will likely be made public tomorrow.

Earlier, on Monday, Trump offered U.S. assistance to Russia regarding the incident.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the agency is monitoring reports of a suspected case of pneumonic plague in Russia's Irkutsk region that resulted in one fatality. The CDC stated that the circumstances of the case have not yet been confirmed. According to the agency, pneumonic plague can spread from person to person via respiratory droplets during close contact. However, the CDC assesses that there are currently no signs of a widespread threat to the United States.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has also stated that, based on available information, the risk to the general public is low.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the organization has requested additional information from Russian health authorities to clarify the cause of the severe pneumonia and identify the specific pathogen involved.

He added that the sharing of "timely, complete, and transparent information" is essential for assessing potential public health risks.