Trump plans Putin discussion over Russian lab worker’s death as diagnosis remains unclear

US President Donald Trump said he expected to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the death of a research worker in Irkutsk, Siberia, after concerns about a possible plague case. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, 7 October, that no call had been scheduled. Russian authorities have not confirmed that the worker had plague.

The disagreement over the proposed call comes as the World Health Organization seeks more information from Russia about the worker’s illness and the precautions taken around her contacts. The WHO assessed the risk outside Russia as very low on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press and Euronews.

What Trump and the Kremlin have said about a call

Trump told reporters on Tuesday that a call with Putin was scheduled and would take place soon. He said the United States was in ‘very deep discussions’ about the case and expected that he could probably report on the talks the following day. Peskov said on Wednesday that the leaders’ call had not yet been scheduled, although one could be arranged quickly.

Trump had offered US help on Monday. Euronews reported that Peskov welcomed the offer, while Russia’s public-health watchdog said Russia was ready to help the United States deal with infectious-disease outbreaks. The statements establish an exchange about assistance, but the available reporting does not establish that a call between Trump and Putin took place.

What is known about Darya Shipilova’s death

Russian authorities have described the illness as pneumonia of unknown cause and said tests found no pathogens connected to Shipilova’s work. They have not confirmed a plague diagnosis. Accounts suggesting a laboratory accident remain unconfirmed, and the available reports do not establish how she became ill.

The WHO said Russia had informed it that no plague case had recently been registered in the Irkutsk region. Russia also reported that tests of the worker’s contacts found no dangerous infectious-disease pathogens. Those statements leave questions about which pathogen, if any, prompted the preventive measures.

Why the WHO is seeking more information from Russia

The WHO has asked Russia for further information about the cause of the severe pneumonia, the pathogen behind the public-health response and reports that a second staff member had pneumonia of unknown cause. It said it remained in contact with Russian authorities and had offered technical support. The reported second illness has not been resolved in the available reporting.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for ‘timely, complete and transparent’ information sharing under the International Health Regulations. He said that would help clarify conflicting reports and allow an accurate assessment of potential public-health risks. His request does not amount to confirmation that Shipilova had plague.

Russia’s health watchdog said on Tuesday that the situation in Irkutsk and Shelekhov was calm, while preventive measures and medical observation of contacts continued. According to the Associated Press, the watchdog said tests among contacts had found two COVID-19 cases and two rhinovirus cases, but no other pathogens.

Euronews reported that Shelekhov deputy mayor Elena Sofina said the feared diagnosis had not been confirmed and that authorities were following protocols. She said 60% of those placed in quarantine had been released. Euronews also reported that institute staff had left quarantine; that does not establish that restrictions at hospitals or elsewhere had ended.

Precautions beyond Irkutsk and the remaining questions

Plague occurs naturally among wild rodents and fleas in parts of Siberia and the Russian Far East, according to the Guardian, but human cases in Russia are rare. The Guardian reported that Russia’s last recorded human plague infection before this episode was in 2016, when a boy in the Altai Republic contracted the disease after helping butcher a marmot.

The immediate questions are the cause of Shipilova’s fatal illness, the reason for the preventive measures and whether another staff member was affected. Russia has not publicly confirmed a plague case, while the WHO is still seeking clarification. As of Peskov’s Wednesday statement, the proposed Trump-Putin call also had no confirmed schedule.