The US is asking Russia for information about the death of an employee of the plague-fighting institute in the Irkutsk region

The United States is preparing an official diplomatic note requesting information from Russia about the death of an employee of the institute for combating plague in the Irkutsk region, amid rumors of a possible plague outbreak in Siberia.

The American démarche is expected to remind Moscow of its obligation to inform the international community in a timely manner about outbreaks of infectious diseases. Public health experts from the State Department have already discussed the matter with the Russian Foreign Ministry on October 2, according to sources cited by The Washington Post.

Concerns grew after the death of 27-year-old Daria Shipilova in a hospital in Shelekhov. The young woman worked at the plague-control institute and had returned from a trip to Buryatia, where an outbreak had been reported on the border with Mongolia. Another hypothesis suggests that she accidentally broke a test tube containing a dangerous bacterium.

The hospital was placed under quarantine, and 189 people who had come into contact with the woman were identified and hospitalized. Russian authorities say they show no signs of illness, while Rospotrebnadzor classified the case as pneumonia of unknown etiology. The epidemiological situation in the region has been declared calm. President Donald Trump described the reports as a “major problem” and announced that he intended to speak with Vladimir Putin.