Scoop: White House monitors suspected plague outbreak in Russia

The White House is monitoring reports of a suspected plague case and related quarantines in Russia, a Trump administration official told Axios on Sunday.

Driving the news: Russian health authorities have taken precautionary measures in response to the death of a woman who worked at an anti-plague research facility, but have not confirmed that she contracted plague.

What they're saying: The Trump administration "is aware, monitoring the outbreak, and assessing options," the administration official said.

The backstory: On Sept. 25, 28-year-old Daria Shipilova, who worked at an anti-plague research institute in Russia's Irkutsk region, broke a test tube containing the pneumonic plague pathogen, local reports said.

• Shipilova was admitted to a hospital on Sept. 29 with symptoms of severe pneumonia and died overnight between Oct. 1 and Oct. 2.
• After her death, authorities imposed quarantines at several medical facilities in the region and placed nearly 200 people who had come into contact with Shipilova under medical observation.
• Irkutsk Gov. Igor Kobzev said those being monitored showed no signs of illness and had tested negative.

Russian media reports suggested Shipilova may have contracted pneumonic plague, but health authorities have not confirmed the diagnosis.

• Russia's public health agency said Shipilova had "pneumonia of unknown etiology" and that further testing found no microorganisms linked to her work. The agency said the epidemiological situation in the region remains stable.

Zoom out: Plague is a potentially life-threatening bacterial disease but can be cured with antibiotics when treated promptly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

White House spokespeople referred questions to the State Department, which did not respond to a request for comment.