US monitors Siberia flights over plague reports

The United States is monitoring passengers on flights from Siberia amid reports of a possible plague infection in Russia, with a medical station established at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, though the CDC assesses the threat to the US as "extremely low." CDC Director Erica Schwartz confirmed the medical facility at JFK, which receives most flights from the Siberian region, while the World Health Organization has requested details from Russian officials about a possible second case of pneumonia of unknown origin linked to a research center. The Trump administration stated in a diplomatic letter that Russia's lack of details about events in Irkutsk violates its international health obligations, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted information remains limited. Media reported that on September 25, 2026, a 28-year-old lab worker at an Irkutsk research center broke a test tube containing the pneumonic plague pathogen, later dying from pneumonia of unknown etiology, with about 200 contacts isolated. President Trump previously offered US assistance to Russia regarding the situation.