The U.S. Embassy in Russia on Oct. 6 issued a health alert following reports of a suspected pneumonic plague death and related quarantine measures in the Siberian region of Irkutsk.
The alert advised U.S. citizens to follow the guidance of local health authorities and avoid going to any affected facilities. Citizens are urged to immediately seek medical care if they develop fever or respiratory symptoms.
It also advised citizens to check with travel insurance providers about medical evacuation options and prepare an emergency plan for leaving the country that does not require assistance from the United States.
The alert also urged those who had traveled to an area experiencing the outbreak to monitor their health for 14 days.
The embassy stated that the U.S. government is monitoring the situation in Irkutsk closely but has “limited ability” to offer assistance to U.S. citizens in Russia, especially outside of Moscow.
The State Department has kept the “Do Not Travel” advisory in place for Russia that urges U.S. citizens to leave the country immediately. It also noted that U.S. government personnel may be subject to additional travel restrictions in specific regions due to health and security concerns.
“U.S. citizens planning travel to Russia are again strongly advised not to travel to Russia due to risk of wrongful detention and security concerns,” the alert reads.
The “Do Not Travel” warning for Russia was first issued on Jan. 23, 2022, about a month before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian health authorities took preventive measures last week after a laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East died from pneumonia of unknown origin. Russian authorities said on Oct. 6 that no plague cases have been detected in Irkutsk.
U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Oct. 6 that he plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the possible outbreak “very soon.” Trump has previously said his administration was willing to help if needed.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Oct. 6 that the United States had only received limited information from the Russian government about the situation.
“Any time you hear that there’s some disease that infected someone in a lab anywhere in the world, you’re going to be concerned about it,” Rubio told reporters.
“I think it’s incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world. That’s what they should do.”
Plague is a disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which can spread through bites from infected rodent fleas or direct contact with an infected animal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency stated that the disease could be cured with antibiotics when treated in a timely manner.
The disease comes in three forms: bubonic plague, which affects the lymph nodes and causes painful swellings; septicemic plague, which occurs when the bacteria infect the blood and cause skin and other tissues to turn black; and pneumonic plague, which occurs when the bacteria infect the lungs.
Pneumonic plague is the most severe form of the disease and can spread from person to person through the air, the agency stated.
