President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he is scheduled for a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin "very soon" to discuss the death of a laboratory worker from a suspected case of plague in Siberia. The planned conversation comes after Trump offered U.S. assistance to Russia regarding the incident.
During a White House press gaggle, Trump indicated that discussions with U.S. intelligence agencies about the situation were ongoing and that more information would be available soon. He has previously expressed his ability to work with Putin despite geopolitical tensions, including Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated it is closely monitoring reports of the suspected pneumonic plague case in the Irkutsk region of Russia, which reportedly resulted in a fatality. While the exact circumstances remain unconfirmed, the CDC noted that pneumonic plague can transmit between individuals through respiratory droplets during close contact.
However, the CDC emphasized that there is currently no indication of a broader threat to the United States and that federal agencies are prepared and continuing to monitor the situation closely. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also assessed the risk to the general public as low, based on the available information. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has requested further details from Russian health authorities to clarify the cause of the severe pneumonia and identify the pathogen involved, stressing the importance of timely and transparent information sharing for assessing potential public health risks.
US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. Trump said he has a call scheduled with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a suspected plague case, amid growing global health concerns over the incident. Photographer: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images
