Rubio presses Russia for details on Siberian plague lab worker's death
bbc.com —
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Russia to release more information about the death of a 28-year-old lab worker at a plague research center in Siberia, amid widespread speculation over the circumstances. Russian officials said all contacts of the victim tested negative for pneumonic plague, and the health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor attributed the death to "pneumonia of an undetermined etiology." The WHO confirmed Russia reported no plague cases in Irkutsk. The incident triggered a diplomatic exchange, with Russia offering the US assistance in combating infectious disease outbreaks. The plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, is found among rodents in the region, though experts noted antibiotics can treat the infection.