U.S. officials seeking details of reported Russian plague death, quarantines

U.S. officials seeking details of reported Russian plague death, quarantines - The Washington Post

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U.S. officials seeking details of reported Russian plague death, quarantines

Officials said they need to learn more about the evolving situation before determining the potential threat to the United States.

October 5, 2026 at 9:39 a.m. EDTToday at 9:39 a.m. EDT

8 min

*The Medical Assistance and Rescue Center, an infectious-disease hospital, in Russia's Irkutsk region on Monday. (Reuters)*

By Lena H. Sun

,

Dan Diamond

and

Mary Ilyushina

The Trump administration is closely tracking reports of a death potentially related to pneumonic plague in Russia, with officials cautioning that much about the situation remains unknown.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the State Department, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, and other agencies have been working to learn more about the reported death of a laboratory worker who was employed at an institute dedicated to studying plague and quarantines imposed on several hospitals in Siberia, four officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal briefings.

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What readers are saying

The comments express significant concern over a potential health crisis involving a plague outbreak in Russia, with many criticizing the current U.S. administration under Donald Trump for its perceived incompetence and the weakening of key health agencies like the CDC and NIH.... Show more

This summary is AI-generated. AI can make mistakes and this summary is not a replacement for reading the comments.

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