US and WHO Press Russia for Answers After Plague Lab Worker's Death in Siberia
The United States and the World Health Organization pressed Russia on Tuesday for transparency following the death of a 28-year-old lab worker at a plague research institute in Siberia, with President Donald Trump saying he would discuss the matter with Vladimir Putin. Russian authorities denied imposing sanitary measures after the death, reported by local media on Friday. The CDC said it was monitoring the situation but saw no broader threat to the US, while WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus requested additional information, assessing the risk as low for Russia and very low for Europe. The lab worker, Daria Chipilova, may have contracted pneumonic plague after a test tube broke, according to local media. Regional governor Igor Kobzev said post-mortem tests found she died of pneumonia of undetermined origin, with no plague microorganisms detected in her samples.