Researcher Exposed to 'Plague' Dies... White House Says It Is 'Monitoring Situation'

Regarding an incident where a researcher died and contacts were quarantined following a suspected pathogen leak at a plague research institute in Siberia, Russia, the White House is monitoring the event and related quarantine measures, U.S. online media outlet Axios reported on the 4th, citing an official from the U.S. Donald Trump administration.

Regarding the Trump administration's response, the official stated, "We are aware of the situation, monitoring the outbreak, and reviewing response options."

According to Axios, a 28-year-old woman broke a test tube containing plague pathogens on September 25 at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute located in Shelekhov, near Irkutsk Oblast, Russia.

The woman was hospitalized with severe pneumonia symptoms on September 29 and died overnight between October 1 and 2.

Rospotrebnadzor, Russia's state consumer protection agency responsible for infectious diseases, announced on the 4th that the female researcher died after being diagnosed with "pneumonia of unknown origin."

Authorities are currently conducting an investigation to determine the exact type of the leaked pathogen.

Aleksey Tsydenov, the head of the Republic of Buryatia adjacent to Irkutsk Oblast, stated regarding the cause of the researcher's death that "there is a possibility of the plague," while adding that there has been no mass outbreak of the plague within the Buryatia region.

According to local independent media outlets such as "Lyudi Baikala," about 200 people were designated for quarantine and observation at the Shelekhov hospital where the deceased researcher was transferred, and a maternity hospital in the city has also been placed under quarantine measures.

Gennady Onishchenko, former head of Rospotrebnadzor, said in an interview with TASS news agency, "It is highly unlikely that the infectious disease in question is the plague," adding, "Even if it is confirmed to be the plague, low temperatures will prevent it from leading to a large-scale spread."

Pneumonic plague is one of the three forms caused by the plague bacterium. Unlike other forms of the plague transmitted through contact with fleas or animals, it can spread from person to person via respiratory droplets.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.