The White House is monitoring a suspected case of pneumonic plague in Russia, where a laboratory worker has died and about 200 people who had contact with her are under medical observation, Axios reported.
A Trump administration official told Axios that the administration is "aware, monitoring the outbreak, and assessing options." White House spokespeople referred questions to the State Department, which declined to comment.
The woman, Daria Shipilova, 28, worked at an anti-plague research institute in the Siberian city of Irkutsk. According to the report, she broke a test tube containing the pneumonic plague pathogen on September 25. She was hospitalized four days later with symptoms of severe pneumonia and died between October 1 and 2.
Russian authorities have not confirmed that she had plague. The country's public health agency described her illness as "pneumonia of unknown etiology" and said further testing found no microorganisms linked to her laboratory work. Russian media have reported that the cause was pneumonic plague.
Officials placed several medical facilities in the region under quarantine. Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said the people under observation have shown no signs of illness and have tested negative, and authorities described the situation as stable.
Pneumonic plague is the form of the disease that infects the lungs, and it can pass from person to person through respiratory droplets. It is treatable with antibiotics when caught early.
At the time of reporting, no travel restrictions or other measures against Russia had been announced.
