Facing stonewalling from Russia, Trump admin struggles to plan for potential plague fallout

By Adam Cancryn, Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood, Sarah Owermohle, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration is struggling to get clear answers about the death of a Russian laboratory worker at an institute dedicated to studying the plague, amid days of stonewalling from Russian officials about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the episode.

The death of the technician at the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia immediately raised alarms throughout the administration, prompting a race to compile intel and plot for a potential public health response, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

But Russia’s reluctance to share information about the incident has complicated those efforts, leaving officials uncertain what broader risks it could pose — and how exactly to defend the US against them.

“It’s incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday. “Maybe it’s bigger than we thought. We don’t know, but I think it would be reckless at this moment, given the limited information we still have, to speculate.”

US officials were in touch with the Russian government as early as last Friday, a State Department official said, including contact between the department’s health experts and the Russian Foreign Ministry. And that outreach has continued, an administration official said, as Rubio expressed hope Tuesday that the limited information sharing “will change in the next few hours and days.”

President Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House Tuesday afternoon that he had “call scheduled” to speak with Russian leader Vladimir Putin about the issue “very soon.” He added US agencies would have more information to report “probably tomorrow.”

But the US has gotten limited cooperation so far. What little information has come out of Russia has faced deep skepticism, with officials unconvinced that the Kremlin is being fully forthcoming, according to people familiar with the situation.

Still, until the administration knows more through intelligence collection and diplomatic outreach, officials are not taking steps such as putting travel restrictions into place to prevent any potential spread, according to a US official. The US already advises against travel to Russia due to various factors, including the possibility of wrongful detention and the war with Ukraine.

Among the critical questions still outstanding: whether the 28-year-old lab worker who died last week contracted pneumonic plague — a severe but treatable infection — or another, unknown infectious disease. Staff at the Anti-Plague Institute study a range of other dangerous diseases, including cholera, anthrax and brucellosis, according to the institute’s website.

US officials have also sought details on whether the disease was modified in any way, a process called gain of function that could dramatically alter the way the US and other countries might respond.

Rubio and other Trump officials have publicly downplayed the immediate threat to Americans, emphasizing that the administration is closely monitoring the situation and that pneumonic plague is treatable with antibiotics.

But behind the scenes, there is deep unease within the administration over the continued lack of insight, the people familiar with the situation said. Compounding those concerns is the Russian government’s outsized response, including quarantining the hospital where the lab worker was treated, according to the mayor of the Shelekhovsky district. Nearly 200 people are under observation, a regional news outlet reported.

“We don’t know a lot right now about what actually happened,” said one US official. “But one thing most of us feel certain about: The Russians are going to act like the Chinese did with Covid. They won’t be forthcoming.”

Still, Trump on Monday characterized the situation as a “big problem” for Russia, suggesting that the US might need to provide some unspecified level of aid.

In a statement, a State Department spokesperson said that several federal agencies were “closely monitoring the fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague,” but that many of the details surrounding it remained unconfirmed. They reiterated that Americans have long been advised not to travel to Russia for any reason.

“We encourage Russian authorities to share accurate information quickly and openly,” the spokesperson said.

In the days since the lab worker’s death, the National Security Council and State Department officials have led the administration’s push to gather information, piece together what happened and evaluate the potential risks, officials and others familiar with the situation said. Federal health agencies, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, have also been involved in the cross-government effort.

A source familiar with the outreach said Trump officials have also backchanneled with the World Health Organization — the international health body that Trump pulled funding from soon after taking office, but that the government has continued to communicate with in emergency situations.

WHO said Monday that it was in contact with Russian authorities to verify details about the lab worker’s death, though it has so far also received little information.

“If they’re not transparent, if they’re not open to independent accountability, how is it possible to trust the Kremlin is telling us the full and accurate information?” said Lawrence Gostin, a global health law professor at Georgetown University who has worked closely with WHO. “Clearly, on its face, the lab was conducting extremely high-risk research and using shoddy biosafety measures.”

The Anti-Plague Institute’s relatively remote location in eastern Russia, combined with the pneumonic plague’s limited ability to quickly spread, has given health experts some comfort that any immediate threat can be contained.

Pneumonic plague is a bacterial infection, unlike the highly transmissible coronavirus strain that sparked the 2020 pandemic. And while the plague is fatal if untreated, there are now effective and widely available antibiotics to treat it.

While there is little indication that the incident will touch off another global health crisis, officials and outside experts said it has nevertheless reinforced how difficult it can be to monitor and prepare for potential biological threats.

The CDC may have the medical stockpile necessary to combat conventional pneumonic plague, those officials and experts said. But there’s little certainty whether it could do the same against a modified version — or how long it would take to develop a treatment if needed.

Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiology professor and director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health, said the episode also comes as health response capabilities both in the US and globally have been diminished by funding cuts and the strain of responding to other crises. WHO has proposed slashing its budget following a $600 million shortfall triggered by the US’ exit.

America’s ability to handle a new public health response, meanwhile, “is severely diminished” amid its efforts to combat measles outbreaks, she said.

“We are talking about a very depleted system. God forbid you layer another pathogen onto the already laborious and difficult work of going after measles,” said Nuzzo. “That would be a nightmare.”

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