Trump Says U.S. Is Ready to Help Russia With Siberia Illness

U.S. President Donald Trump said October 5 that the United States was willing to help Russia respond to a suspected infectious disease incident in Siberia, after a worker at a plague research institute died and Russian authorities reportedly quarantined a hospital and monitored people who had been in contact with her. Trump did not describe specific assistance or say that Russia had formally requested it. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said the United States was watching the situation and was prepared to help. He said he had only recently heard about it and had not spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the incident. The worker was employed at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia. Russian reporting identified her as Darya Shipilova. Authorities quarantined a hospital in Shelekhov, near Irkutsk, and placed contacts under medical observation, according to reports. Accounts of the number monitored differ: some put it at nearly 200, while others described dozens. The available information does not establish whether those figures refer to the same group or reporting period.