Plague: Russia hospitalizes nearly 200 people after death: reports

Nearly 200 people have been placed under medical observation in Russia’s Irkutsk region, in eastern Siberia, for suspected exposure to the plague, according to local media.

The report said 189 people were monitored following the illness of an employee of an anti-plague research institute in Irkutsk. Alexei Tsydenov, head of the neighboring Republic of Buryatia, said the woman died of an unspecified form of plague.

Russia’s public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said on Sunday that the employee had been diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown etiology” and that the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region and the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov remained stable.

The agency said extensive testing did not detect microorganisms related to the employee’s work.

The update follows local media reports Friday that a 27-year-old employee of an anti-plague institute fell ill with suspected pneumonic plague after returning from a work trip to Buryatia, where an outbreak was reported near the border with Mongolia, citing Russian Telegram channel Mash.

The White House is monitoring reports of the suspected case and associated quarantines in Russia, Axios reported Sunday, citing a Trump administration official. The official said the administration was “aware, monitoring the outbreak and evaluating options,” according to the report.

The Russian and Moscow health ministries, the World Health Organization and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.