Trump gives bizarre response about Russian plague as fears grow that it could spread worldwide

Donald Trump has pledged help from the US for Russia after a suspected plague case in Siberia led to hospital closures and a mass quarantine.

In Irkutsk, a city near Russia's border with Mongolia, four hospitals have been closed for a three-week quarantine and more than 200 people are under medical observation.

Speaking on Monday, Trump said the US will 'help' Russia cope with the situation, saying: "Well, we're looking at it very strongly. We just heard about it, and they call it pneumonia."

The president then gave what appeared to be some science on the matter: "And pneumonia, you know, years ago you could treat pneumonia easier. The microbes and the germs have gotten stronger disproportionately, but we'll help them."

The measures followed the death of Daria Shipilova, a 28-year-old lab technician who reportedly fell ill after accidentally breaking a test tube containing plague bacteria at a Siberian research institute.

Four hospitals in Irkutsk, a city near Russia's border with Mongolia, have been closed for a three-week quarantine according to Russia's consumer and health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor. (Photo by Igor IVANKO / AFP via Getty Images)

She spent days in hospital before dying from 'pneumonia of unknown etiology,' according to Russian officials.

Around 60 of her colleagues remain isolated at the institute amid fears she may have died from pneumonic plague, although officials in Moscow have been keen to downplay the risk of widespread transmission.

Russia's health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, claims expanded testing found no microorganisms linked to Shipilova's wok and denies any accident took place.

The picture has been muddled by Alexei Tsydeov, the head of neighboring Buryatia, who first confirmed she had died of plague before saying she 'possibly' may have contracted it.

Regional Governor Igor Kobzev has described the situation as stable, while law enforcement reportedly opened a criminal investigation into health safety violations and public events in Irkutsk were canceled.

Pneumonic plague is a rare, exceptionally severe lung infection caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. It is widely considered the most dangerous and virulent form of the plague. (Getty Stock Image)

What is pneumonic plague and how does it spread?

Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, and people usually catch it through the bite of an infected host such as a flea or animal. That version tends to target the lymph nodes, but it can develop into pneumonic plague, the most serious form.

This type infects the lungs and passes between people through respiratory particles during close contact. It can be cured with commonly used antibiotics when treatment begins promptly. The disease is infamous for ravaging medieval Europe, where some estimates suggest it wiped out 30 to 60 percent of the population, or roughly 75 to 200 million people.

Reports claim up to five hospitals in and near Irkutsk are in 'epidemic' mode, with hundreds of staff and patients not allowed to leave. Drugs used to treat the disease are reportedly running out in the region, and residents are said to be crowding into pharmacies. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia have tightened border health controls.

The Kremlin's only comment so far came from spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who said: "One should rely on official statements from Rospotrebnadzor rather than listening to various rumors and speculation."

Marco Rubio said on Monday that Washington is 'watching and monitoring it closely'. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Could the suspected plague outbreak reach the United States?

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday, before traveling to Iceland, that Washington is 'watching and monitoring it closely'.

He pointed out there are no direct commercial flights between the US and Russia. "There's very limited travel between the US and Russia, obviously," he said. "But like anything else, something like that gets out and could quickly spread."

The State Department said it is monitoring the outbreak with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other interagency partners.

A US official said plague is treatable with 'common antibiotics', particularly when treatment starts early, and that cases occur naturally in many parts of the world. Plague is rare in the United States.

UNILAD has contacted the White House for comment.