President Donald Trump has said he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about a possible plague outbreak that is said to have taken at least two lives in the country.
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that → say → country
The commander-in-chief announced on Tuesday he has a call scheduled with Putin about the possible cases of the pneumonic plague in Russia.
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he → announce → Russia
He had previously offered Russia help with the alleged plague and said that the US government is looking at the outbreak 'very strongly.'
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government → offer → outbreak
But the Kremlin has declined US help and instead offered to help America with its measles outbreak, which is now the worst in the country since 1991.
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which → decline → 1991
Meanwhile, officials for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have said they are monitoring the threat.
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they → say → threat
A spokesperson for the agency told the Daily Mail it 'is aware of and closely monitoring reports of a suspected case of pneumonic plague in the Irkutsk region of Russia that resulted in a death.
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that → tell → death
'We are working across the US government to assess developments as additional information becomes available.'
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information → work → developments
Agency officials noted there was currently 'no indication... of a broader threat' to the US, but they were continually monitoring for updates.
President Donald Trump has said he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about a possible plague outbreak in the country
Russian officials have claimed Darya Shipilova, 28, died from an 'unidentified pneumonia'
Panic broke out last week when Darya Shipilova, 28, a lab worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia, reportedly told medical staff that she had accidentally broken a test tube containing live bacteria.
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she → note → bacteria
Russian officials have claimed Shipilova died from an 'unidentified pneumonia', but reports suggest she was infected with pneumonic plague caused by the 'Black Death' bacterium, which infamously killed millions in Europe during the Middle Ages.
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which → claim → Ages
Hundreds of people she came into contact with and five hospitals, including a maternity unit, were placed into quarantine.
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hospitals → come → quarantine
Shipilova was hospitalized and died from the infection on October 2.
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Shipilova → hospitalize → October
Local media has since claimed that a second person has died of the plague in the Irkutsk region.
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person → claim → region
But Russian reports on the first plague case have been disappearing across national media, including one from Moscow's Channel 5 broadcaster.
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reports → disappear → broadcaster
Independent Russian outlet The Insider said on October 2 the federal television channel REN TV also deleted all five of its publications about the plague in the Irkutsk region.
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channel → say → region
Still, countries on the border of Russia, including Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are tightening border health controls over the situation.
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countries → include → situation
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also warned that the disease could 'quickly spread', but said that there was no immediate cause for alarm as there is 'very little' travel between the US and Russia.
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disease → warn → US
Darya Shipilova, 28, a lab worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia died of the suspected plague on October 2
Irkutsk anti-plague institute officials are pictured leading a plague-response drill at Russia-Mongolia border crossing in April 2026
The plague is a serious infection caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis that can cause swollen lymph nodes, particularly at the groin, armpit and neck, coughing up blood and bleeding under the skin.
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that → die → skin
Pneumonic plague is among the most severe forms of the disease that leaves patients bedridden within 24 hours after it attacks the lungs, causing them to fill with fluid and leaving someone struggling to breathe.
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them → leave → someone
It is nearly always fatal unless someone is treated with antibiotics shortly after they have been infected.
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they → treat → antibiotics
Anyone can catch the plague, scientists say, which is a severe infection for all age groups.
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which → catch → groups
It can spread from person-to-person if an infected person coughs or sneezes, expelling tiny droplets containing the bacteria, which can then be breathed in by another person, causing an infection.
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which → spread → infection
The plague is endemic to Siberia, the location of the first known prehistoric human outbreak, as the bacterium that causes it is present among the small wild mammals in its vast wilderness and their fleas, which can also become infected and transmit the bacteria.
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which → know → bacteria
Cases are occasionally reported in the region, although it is generally rare for Russians to fall ill.
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Russians → report → region
But in July, Mongolia's National Center for Zoonotic Diseases (NCZD) confirmed a human plague case in Khovd province in the western part of the country.
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Center → confirm → country
The center warned that 17 out of 21 provinces in the country were classified as plague-risk areas.
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provinces → warn → areas
In the US, the CDC says that about seven cases of the plague are recorded every year, mostly in northern New Mexico and Arizona.
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cases → say → Mexico
These are triggered because the bacteria that causes the disease is present in the small wild mammals in the region.
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that → trigger → region
More than 80 percent of human cases in the US are triggered when the fleas on these animals bite them, becoming infected, and then bite a human, passing on the bacteria.
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fleas → trigger → bacteria
Many of these are in Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Madagascar, which records infections every year.
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which → record → infections
It isn't clear how many die from the disease, but with the bubonic plague, the most common type, caused by flea bites and which triggers swollen lymph nodes, about 30 to 60 percent of patients die if they are not treated early.
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they → die → patients
The Aporia
