U.S. Embassy Urges Americans to Leave Russia Amid Suspected Plague Case in Siberia
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow has issued a health alert after the death of a plague laboratory employee in the Irkutsk region. Russian authorities deny any public health crisis and say the situation is under control.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow released a health alert on Tuesday following the death of an anti-plague institute employee in the Irkutsk region. The embassy urged Americans to leave Russia and told U.S. citizens in the affected area to follow the instructions of local health authorities.
The woman, who worked at the Irkutsk anti-plague institute, died last week. Her death has stoked fears of a possible outbreak, although officials have not publicly confirmed that she had plague.
Embassy guidance
The statement advised U.S. citizens in the region to avoid affected facilities and to seek medical care promptly if they develop a fever or respiratory symptoms. The embassy stressed that Washington has limited ability to help Americans in Russia, particularly outside Moscow, and pointed to reports of hospital quarantines after the death. It repeated its advice that U.S. citizens depart Russia and refrain from travel there because of security concerns. The State Department's highest-level "Do Not Travel" advisory has been in force since January 2022, on the eve of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
International reaction
Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Russia to share more information, while President Donald Trump said he intended to raise the matter in a call with Vladimir Putin. A source close to the matter told AFP that the State Department has sent a formal diplomatic demarche to the Russian government asking for clarification.
The World Health Organization said no cases have been recorded in Irkutsk, but Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged timely, complete and transparent information sharing.
Russia's position
Russian authorities have denied there is any active public health crisis and insist the situation is under control. The Kremlin told the public to disregard online rumors and rely solely on updates from the consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor. Responding to Trump's offers of assistance, Rospotrebnadzor proposed helping the United States with its own health challenges, pointing to rising measles cases and a fatal plague case recorded in New Mexico in June.
