U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving at Marine One on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, in Washington, DC. President Trump said he plans to speak by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the suspected plague infection amid growing global health concerns over the incident. Photographer: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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US President Donald Trump said in the US on Tuesday that he plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the death of a laboratory worker from suspected plague in Siberia.
Asked by reporters about the timing of the call, Trump said it was scheduled “very soon,” according to the White House. Asked separately what U.S. intelligence agencies were saying about the incident, Trump said: “So far, we’ve had very deep discussions. We’ll probably be able to report on this tomorrow.”
Trump, who has previously said Putin is someone he can work with despite tensions over Moscow’s war in Ukraine, on Monday offered U.S. assistance to Russia over the deadly plague.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a post on Wednesday: “We are aware of and closely monitoring reports of suspected pneumonic plague causing death in the Irkutsk region of Russia.”
U.S. public health officials said the circumstances surrounding the incident remain unconfirmed. According to the CDC, pneumonic plague can be spread from person to person through droplets from close contact.
However, the CDC said there is “no indication of a widespread threat to the United States at this time,” adding that the CDC and its interagency partners are prepared and will continue to closely monitor the situation.
The World Health Organization told CNBC that it assesses the risk to the general public as low based on available information.
