US reiterates do-not-travel warning for Russia over suspected pneumonic plague

The US State Department said on Tuesday it is refreshing its call for Americans not to travel to Russia in the wake of a suspected case of pneumonic plague in Siberia. In a post on the social platform X, the department said the US Embassy is aware of press reports from the Irkutsk region of suspected pneumonic plague resulting in the death of an individual. It said the reports mention quarantine measures in, and closures of, hospitals in Irkutsk.

The department said its Level 4 Travel Advisory (Do Not Travel) for Russia remains in place. It states that US citizens currently in Russia should depart immediately. The department also said the US government has limited ability to help US citizens in Russia, especially outside Moscow, and that it continues to track the situation closely.

President Donald Trump said the US is 'always willing to help,' Fox News reported. On Monday, Trump said he was worried about the suspected plague case and that the US was 'looking at it very strongly,' according to The Hill. 'I hate to see them having it,' Trump told reporters before departing the White House for Nebraska. 'It's a rough disease. We used to be able to control, but somehow those microbes have gotten stronger and smarter.'

The suspected case involves the death of a 28-year-old woman who worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, Fox News reported. On Sunday, the Russian consumer welfare service said the woman died due to 'pneumonia of unknown etiology,' NBC News reported, according to The Hill. Russian authorities did not give a specific cause of death, The Hill reported.

NBC News reported Monday that around 200 people in Siberia were facing medical observation, The Hill reported. The medical observation followed the death of a 28-year-old lab worker possibly exposed to pneumonic plague, according to local media cited by NBC News.