Facing stonewalling from Russia, Trump admin struggles to plan for potential plague fallout

The Trump administration is struggling to learn what killed a 28-year-old technician at the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia, as Russian officials give out little information, CNN · Fox News reports. The lack of answers has hampered efforts by U.S. agencies to judge the risk and decide how to guard against it, and sources describe deep private unease even as public messaging plays down any danger to Americans.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Russia should share more with the world and cautioned against speculating on thin evidence. Key unknowns include whether the worker had pneumonic plague, which antibiotics can treat, or a different pathogen, and whether it was altered through gain of function. Washington has been in touch with Moscow since last Friday, including through the Russian Foreign Ministry. No travel restrictions are planned. Russia quarantined the hospital that treated the worker, and a regional outlet reported nearly 200 people under observation.

President Donald Trump has said a call with Vladimir Putin is scheduled, and called the situation a "big problem" for Russia, suggesting some U.S. aid might be needed. The National Security Council and State Department are leading the information-gathering, with the CDC also involved.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CNN · Fox News’s reporting. Read the full story at CNN · Fox News →