The United States Department of State has claimed this Monday that Russian authorities share information "quickly and transparently" about the possible case of pneumonic plague detected in the Irkutsk region, following the death of a scientist in an alleged laboratory accident in the town of Shelejov.
"We are aware of the news about a fatal case of alleged pneumonic plague in the Irkutsk region, in Russia. We are closely monitoring the situation along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the rest of our interagency partners," a spokesperson for the Department of State emphasized to Europa Press.
U.S. authorities have stressed that many details about what happened are currently unknown, so they have again urged Moscow to "share accurate information quickly and transparently."
"Plague is a known disease and can be treated with common antibiotics, especially if treatment is started on time. Cases occur naturally in many parts of the world," the same source explained.
"What is known is known," says Marco Rubio
Hours later, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio elaborated on this message by emphasizing that Washington "knows what it knows" and that its knowledge depends on the data provided by Russia. "It seems that there was a laboratory worker who got infected, and there is concern that it may have spread, at least internally," he indicated to the media before embarking on a trip to Iceland.
Rubio pointed out that currently, movements between the United States and Russia are limited, but he insisted that Washington is closely following the evolution of the possible outbreak and whether the pneumonic plague "comes out of the laboratory."
"We are observing and monitoring closely. I don't think there is reason to panic, but it is a reason to pay attention and simply keep it under surveillance, and that is what we are doing," he argued.
Russia assures that the situation in Irkutsk is "stable"
For its part, Russian authorities have defended that the epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region is "stable," after having implemented various emergency measures in recent days following the death of the researcher in the alleged laboratory accident in Shelejov.
Moscow has indicated that specific responses have already been adopted following the incident, which occurred on Friday at the Institute Against Plague in Siberia and the Far East. Due to the victim's job, "comprehensive epidemic measures" were ordered to contain any possible risk, including "identifying the widest possible circle of people who may have been in contact with the patient," as explained by the Federal Service for Surveillance of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing of Russia (Rospotrebnadzor).