US Screens Siberia Flights as WHO Seeks Details on Second Plague Case

The United States is screening passengers on flights from Siberia following reports of a possible plague infection in Russia, though the CDC assesses the threat to the US as "extremely low." A medical station has been set up at New York's JFK airport, which receives most flights from the region. The World Health Organization has requested details from Russian officials about a possible second case of pneumonia of unknown etiology linked to a research center. The Trump administration sent a diplomatic letter stating Russia's lack of information regarding events in Irkutsk violates its international health obligations, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling the information "quite limited." Media reports say a lab worker in Irkutsk died on September 25, 2026, after allegedly breaking a vial containing the pneumonic plague pathogen, with around 200 contacts isolated. Newsweek reported that Russian authorities have been removing plague references from statements and changing the scientist's cause of death, drawing comparisons to the Soviet response to the Chernobyl disaster.