US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called on Russia to provide more information about the incident in Irkutsk, where a plague research laboratory worker died and pneumonic plague is suspected as the cause of death, Politico reports.The death of the research laboratory worker has caused minor panic in Europe; meanwhile, Russian officials have reported that approximately 200 people who had contact with the deceased woman are in quarantine. No pathogens linked to the laboratory worker’s duties were reportedly found in the samples.Rubio told reporters that several US agencies are continuously monitoring the situation, but that it would be difficult to take proactive measures unless Russia provides more information. On the 6th of October, he stated that it would be irresponsible of him to sit and speculate on possibilities when not all the information is yet available. Rubio indicated his belief that Russia is obligated to provide the world with more information about the situation—and must do so—adding that Americans hope this will happen. The more that is known about exactly what occurred, the better positioned authorities will be to respond appropriately. Since the COVID-19 pandemic—which literally paralyzed the world in 2020 and 2021 and claimed the lives of more than seven million people—researchers have maintained a high state of readiness to combat epidemiological threats. Some international health experts have noted that the incident in Russia is merely the first of many public health threats likely to arise in the future, particularly as artificial intelligence could facilitate the creation of more dangerous and harder-to-detect pathogens.Rubio stated that any report of an infection occurring in a laboratory anywhere in the world is cause for concern, especially given the recent experience of the pandemic.
US Secretary of State seeks more information from Moscow regarding plague research lab
