Federal agencies are working together to monitor travelers arriving from Siberia after a potential pneumonic plague case was identified in Russia, though health officials say they’re confident the threat to Americans is “extremely low” and President Donald Trump says Russia claims to have the situation “very much under control.”

CDC Director Erica Schwartz on Wednesday said the Department of Homeland Security, State Department, Department of Defense and other agencies are monitoring travelers on flights from Siberia and that a health station has been set up at JFK Airport in New York City, where most flights from the region arrive.

Speaking at a Wall Street Journal event Wednesday, Schwartz said her agency is “very confident that the threat to the United States is extremely low.”

At the same time, Trump answered questions from reporters in the Oval Office and said Russian officials have said the situation is “very much under control” but otherwise the country is “not saying much."

Trump also said he has a call scheduled “very soon” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, news that comes after the Wall Street Journal reported the administration has pressed Russia to disclose more details.

The Trump administration told Russia in a diplomatic communication reviewed by the Journal that its lack of detail around the incident that has left almost 200 people quarantined violates its international health obligations.

A State Department spokesperson confirmed to the Journal it formally requested additional information from Russia’s government.

Russia’s national public health agency on Sunday said it was investigating the death of a 28-year-old woman who worked as a lab technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. She died on Oct. 2 from “pneumonia of unknown etiology” and researchers are conducting lab tests to better trace the cause of her illness, which some fear could be a case of the highly fatal pneumonic plague. Her death prompted authorities to place nearly 200 people under observation at a hospital, and Rospotrebnadzor said no new cases of infectious disease have been reported among the plague institute’s employees in the past 10 days. The institute also said it didn’t find any “emergency situations involving pathogenic microorganisms.” Testing of the deceased patient’s contacts revealed two cases of COVID-19 and two cases of rhinovirus infection, although it’s unclear if either were linked to the patient’s death.

What Else Have Trump officials said about the Plague scare?

President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday, “everybody who has that kind of a problem, we’ll always help,” when asked about the researcher’s death, but said he hadn’t yet spoken to Russian officials about the case and it’s unclear exactly how the U.S. would help the situation. “I hate to see them having it,” Trump said. “It’s a rough disease.” On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters the information from Russia was “still quite limited” and urged the country to practice transparency, adding, “Maybe there’s nothing there. Maybe it’s bigger than we thought. We don’t know.”

What is the World Health Organization doing about the potential plague case?

The World Health Organization said it has been “actively following up” and has sought details from Russian officials on reports of a second pneumonia case linked to the lab. In a lengthy statement on X , WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the global health body has requested information on “reports of a second employee with pneumonia of undetermined cause,” a likely reference to some unverified reports by Russian outlets about a second case. WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier earlier said “the public health risk to the general population appears to be low.”

What Is the Pneumonic Plague?

According to the World Health Organization, which Trump withdrew the U.S. from this year, plague is a disease caused by the zoonotic bacterium Yersinia pestis, which is usually found in small mammals like rodents and in their fleas. The Bubonic plague is the most common form of plague, and it is transmitted from animals to humans through the bite of infected fleas. It can cause painful inflammation of the lymph node, called “buboes.” The less common pneumonic plague is far more virulent and can be transmitted through respiratory particles to other people; it can be highly fatal if not detected and treated early.

Nearly 200 People Under Observation After Irkutsk Lab Worker Dies From Plague (The Moscow Times)

Researcher at Russian plague laboratory dies of ‘unknown’ infection (CNN)