Pneumonic plague suspected: Kremlin: Appointment open for meeting between Trump and Putin

According to Russian information, a date for a conversation between Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump about the suspicion of pneumonic plague following the death of a scientist in Siberia is open. Moscow and Washington have not yet agreed on a telephone conversation and it is unclear when it will take place, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the state news agency Tass. Trump had previously announced that he had an appointment for a phone call and that it would take place very soon.

According to the Kremlin, there have been five phone calls between the two presidents since the beginning of the year, the most recent being on September 8th. A conversation can be arranged quickly if there is a corresponding initiative.

The 28-year-old scientist, who worked at the Institute for Combating Plague Diseases, died on Friday in the district hospital in the city of Shelekhov near Irkutsk in Siberia. According to the Russian agency responsible for disease control, the woman's death was not due to a plague pathogen. She named the cause of death as “pneumonia of unknown origin.”

WHO asks for information about possible second case

The US State Department had previously called on the Russian authorities to share information quickly and transparently. On Wednesday evening, the World Health Organization (WHO) asked Russia for information about a possible additional death from pneumonia in Irkutsk. She referred to a media report that, as is usual in these cases, had been systematically checked and assessed as credible.

Pneumonic plague is a severe form of plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. It can occur when the infection spreads to the lungs. The disease can be treated with antibiotics if therapy begins early. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the plague still occurs in countries in Africa, America and Asia, but not in Germany.