▲ U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio
The Donald Trump administration is urging Russia to release more information regarding a suspected plague pathogen leak incident, as a lack of specific details has left Washington unable to determine its response level.
Speaking at a press conference during his visit to Iceland on local time October 6, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "It would be irresponsible to speculate while we still do not have all the information verified," adding, "I think Russia clearly has an obligation to share more information with the world."
"The more we know about what happened, the better we can respond. It could turn out to be nothing, or it could be a bigger problem than we thought," he added.
Rubio stated, "If it is more serious than what has been made known so far, measures are already in place to deal with it," noting, "We are monitoring the situation very closely on an hourly basis."
"We urge Russia to show transparency and share more information with the world so that we can respond accordingly," he said. "The information has been quite limited so far, but we hope that will change in the coming hours and days."
On September 25, a female researcher at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Russia broke a test tube containing the plague pathogen. The researcher was hospitalized with severe pneumonia symptoms on September 29 and died between October 1 and 2.
Local independent media reported that about 200 people were designated for quarantine observation at the hospital where the deceased researcher was transferred, and that an obstetric and gynecological hospital in the city was also placed under quarantine measures.
Before departing for Iceland the previous day, Rubio had said, "We are watching and monitoring this closely. It is not something to panic about, but something to note and keep an eye on, and we are doing that." However, on this day, he pointed out Russia's lack of information sharing.
The Washington Post (WP) reported the previous day that U.S. officials, as well as Secretary Rubio, are warning that much remains unknown about the incident, and that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the State Department, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), and other agencies are working to get a clearer picture.
Additionally, current and former U.S. officials want to determine whether the facility attempted to modify plague samples using "gain-of-function" techniques to enhance transmissibility or resistance to drugs.
Ashish Jha, former White House COVID-19 response coordinator under the preceding Biden administration, told WP, drawing attention to unconfirmed reports that Russian security services were involved in transporting the deceased researcher to the hospital, that "this is concerning."
"Given that we know Russia actively maintains an offensive biological weapons program, we don't have a full picture of exactly what was happening in this facility," he added.
U.S. internet outlet Axios also reported that it is crucial to determine whether the incident stemmed from Russia's legitimate plague research or from a biological weapons development program.
Currently, there is no evidence that the deceased researcher was involved in research on weaponized or genetically modified bacteria. According to some reports, the researcher recently visited the Russia-Mongolia border region, an area where plague occurs naturally in animals.
On the other hand, Axios noted that the U.S. think tank James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies has pointed out that the Russian military authorities had developed vaccines and diagnostics for modified pathogens.
The U.S. State Department also assessed in 2024 that Russia maintains an offensive biological weapons program, having absorbed and developed the former Soviet program.
The Trump administration is currently withholding a government-level response amid the lack of information.
According to Axios, U.S. officials lack information not only on the cause of the deceased researcher's illness and death, but also on how well containment is holding, making it difficult to assess how serious the plague threat is and whether travel advisories, entry restrictions into the United States, or other preventive measures are necessary.
David Mansdoerfer, a health official in the first Trump administration, explained that guidelines for a response are already in place should a government-level reaction become necessary.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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