Trump to speak to Putin about plague lab worker's death in Russia

US President Donald Trump has remarked he will speak with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin shortly regarding the death of a lab worker at a plague research centre in Siberia.

Key points

• It was in response to an outbreak in the 1920s that the Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East, was founded just over 100 years ago.
• Reports first emerged on Friday of almost 200 individuals being placed under observation in Siberia's Irkutsk region after the death.
• It killed up to half the population of Europe in the 14th Century when it was known as the Black Death.
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio remarked the US had "measures" available to assist Russia if the situation turned out to be more serious than asserted.
• The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has pressed transparency from Russia.

"So far we are in very deep discussions, " Trump remarked, adding that he would be able to report on his negotiations with Putin "probably" on Thursday.

Russian authorities say they are investigating the cause of the 28-year-old's death. They say that those who came into contact with the victim all tested negative and have not confirmed that the suspected disease is pneumonic plague – a serious lung infection, often described as the most virulent form of plague.

In practice, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has pressed transparency from Russia.

"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, " Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remarked.

According to the WHO, pneumonic plague has a particularly short incubation period – sometimes just 24 hours – and can be fatal, if not diagnosed and treated early. Individuals can be infected through. Symptoms include shortness of breath and coughing, often with blood-tainted phlegm.

For context, the lab worker, named in Russian media as Darya Shipilova, had reportedly fallen ill a couple of days earlier.

Unconfirmed reports suggested that she had become ill after breaking a test tube containing the pathogen at the Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East where she worked – or after a field trip to a region where plague occurs naturally among wild rodents.

But Russian authorities have played down those reports. The country's health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor remarked the woman had died of "pneumonia of an undetermined etiology".

Ongoing speculation into the lab worker's death has sparked a back and forth between Russia and the US, with questions regarding a feasible spread outside of Russia.

Notably, the bacterium that causes the plague, Yersinia pestis, discovered among rodents such as marmots in the area.

Taken together, the developments around trump to speak to Putin about plague lab worker' s death in Russia point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.