Rubio urges Russia to share more on plague death in Irkutsk

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday urged Russia to release more information about the death of a 28-year-old scientist in Irkutsk, who Russian media reported died of pneumonic plague last week. Russian authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of death. Rubio stated it is Russia's duty to share more information with the world, saying the U.S. is monitoring the situation "very closely, hour by hour." He added that Washington has measures available to help Russia if the situation proves more serious than Moscow has acknowledged, but needs more information first. The scientist, Darya Shipilova, died in a hospital in Shelekhov after reportedly breaking a test tube containing the plague pathogen on September 25. She was hospitalized with severe pneumonia symptoms four days later and died on October 2. Rubio echoed President Donald Trump's Monday offer of U.S. assistance.