Trump to speak to Putin on plague as US, WHO step up pressure on Moscow to be transparent
WASHINGTON -
asserted
US → speak → Moscow
US President Donald Trump on Oct 6 said he would speak very soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the reported plague death of a laboratory technician, as Washington pressured Moscow for transparency.
asserted
Washington → say → transparency
Russian authorities denied that they were imposing anti-plague measures and played down the reports of an incident at an anti-plague institute in Siberia’s Irkutsk region last week.
But Washington is showing growing concern, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling on Russia to be open about the situation.
“We encourage Russia to be transparent and share more information with the world so that all of us could react accordingly and appropriately,” Rubio said during a trip to Iceland.
uncertain
Rubio → deny → Iceland
“Depending on what we learn about it, we would learn how to respond.”
asserted
we → depend → it
On Oct 6, the World Health Organisation (WHO) director also urged Russia to be transparent about the death of the technician.
asserted
director → urge → technician
“Timely, complete and transparent information sharing under the International Health Regulations is essential to clarify conflicting reports and enable an accurate assessment of potential public health risks,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.
Trump later said he would be speaking to Putin about what happened.
asserted
what → clarify → Putin
“I have a call scheduled, yes,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if he had spoken to Putin on the issue yet, adding that it would happen “very soon.”
asserted
it → have → issue
The Wall Street Journal reported that the US State Department had sent Russia a confidential diplomatic communication known as a demarche warning Moscow that failure to disclose details runs counter to its international health obligations.
asserted
failure → report → obligations
Russian news outlet People of Baikal reported on Oct 2 that the dead woman – named as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova – may have contracted pneumonic plague from a broken test tube.
uncertain
woman → report → tube
Other media reported a possible link between her death and a lab accident at the facility.
asserted
media → report → facility
The People of Baikal outlet also said up to 200 people with whom she may have had contact were under quarantine.
uncertain
she → say → quarantine
But Russian authorities say the cause of death is not confirmed and health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has denied claims circulating in a document online that special measures had been put in place.
uncertain
measures → say → place
“We wish to clarify that the document and information in question do not originate from official sources and are untrue,” it said on Telegram.
asserted
it → wish → Telegram
Russian officials said postmortem tests had not detected the disease.
asserted
tests → say → disease
Irkutsk Regional Governor Igor Kobzev said on Oct 5 that a Rospotrebnadzor inspection had found the woman died of pneumonia and the cause was “undetermined”.
asserted
cause → say → pneumonia
“No microorganisms linked to the young woman’s professional work were found in her biological samples,” he said, adding that no other staff at the institute had sought medical attention since her death.
asserted
staff → link → death
The World Health Organisation said that an update received on Oct 6 from Russia stressed that “no case of this dangerous disease has been recorded in the city of Irkutsk.”
asserted
case → say → Irkutsk
The update said Russia had launched an epidemiological investigation into a “case of community-acquired pneumonia” in an employee at the Irkutsk institute, and had identified contacts and made arrangements for medical monitoring and laboratory testing.
asserted
Russia → say → monitoring
“Test results showed no presence of dangerous infectious disease pathogens in any of the contacts,” the update said, according to WHO.
uncertain
update → show → WHO
The United Nations health agency meanwhile said there was a “moderate to low” risk for Irkutsk based on the available informaton, spokesman Christian Lindmeier said in Geneva, adding it was monitoring the situation closely.
asserted
it → say → situation
Plague is a bacterial disease that can occur in several forms, including pneumonic plague, which is the most contagious type and can be transmitted by respiratory means.
asserted
which → occur → means
Bubonic plague is transmitted by infected fleas.
asserted
plague → transmit → fleas
Pneumonic plague, which causes lung failure, can be fatal if not treated early, according to WHO.
uncertain
which → cause → WHO
Trump had said on Oct 5 that he was ready to help Russia if needed.
But in an apparent response to Trump’s offer, the Russian watchdog said on Oct 6 that Moscow was prepared to assist the United States in combating its own outbreaks of infectious diseases.
asserted
Moscow → say → diseases
It highlighted among other things a “significantly worsened” measles situation in three US states, and a “fatal case of plague” recorded in New Mexico in June.
asserted
It → highlight → June
Measles cases have increased under the Trump administration, in which vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr serves as health secretary.
asserted
Jr → increase → secretary
Meanwhile an international conference on plague and other infectious diseases will be held in Irkutsk on October 21-22, although organizers said it was “unrelated to the recent death of an employee of the anti-plague institute.”
asserted
it → hold → institute
The Aporia
