President Donald Trump says the United States is ready to help Russia after reports of a suspected pneumonic plague case in Siberia, as authorities monitor nearly 200 people who may have come into contact with the woman who died.

The woman, a laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, identified in reports as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova, became seriously ill while working at the institute and later died in hospital.

Reports initially suggested she may have been exposed to plague bacteria following an incident at the laboratory. However, Russian health authorities have rejected that account and said she died from pneumonia of unknown origin.

Officials said testing had not detected microorganisms associated with her professional activities and that there was no confirmed laboratory accident involving dangerous pathogens.

As a precaution, authorities have placed people who may have had contact with the woman under medical observation. Five hospitals in the region have also been placed under quarantine measures.

No additional cases of plague have been confirmed, and officials have said those under observation are not showing symptoms associated with the disease.

Pneumonic plague is a severe form of plague that affects the lungs and can spread between people through respiratory droplets. It can, however, be treated with antibiotics when treatment begins promptly.

Trump offers US assistance

The reports have also drawn attention in Washington.

Trump said the United States was closely monitoring the situation and was prepared to assist Russia.

“We’re looking at it very strongly, we just heard about it,” Trump told reporters when asked about the reported risk of pneumonic plague coming from Russia.

“We’ll help them, we’ll help them as much as we can,” he said.

Trump also said he had not spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the reported case.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was monitoring developments but indicated there was no immediate cause for alarm. The US State Department said it was coordinating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies.

No confirmed outbreak

Despite reports describing the incident as a plague outbreak, Russian authorities have not confirmed a wider outbreak of pneumonic plague.

The cause of the laboratory worker’s illness remains a key point of uncertainty. Russian officials maintain that she died from pneumonia of unknown origin and that tests have not established a connection to plague bacteria.

The monitoring and quarantine measures are precautionary and are intended to identify any potential infections while the investigation continues.

Nearly 200 people are being monitored — but there are currently no confirmed cases of pneumonic plague among them.

Noor Jalal Jalali, Minister of Public Health of Afghanistan, met with Russian Health Minister Mikhail Albertovich Murashko during his official visit to Russia.

The two sides discussed expanding long-term health cooperation between Afghanistan and Russia, including medicines, vaccines, medical equipment, health-worker training and the transfer of modern medical technologies, Afghanistan’s Public Health Ministry said in a statement.

Jalali briefed his Russian counterpart on the needs and priorities of Afghanistan’s health sector and called for greater Russian cooperation to improve the quality of health services, strengthen the professional capacity of health workers and develop modern medical facilities.

Murashko expressed Russia’s readiness to expand technical cooperation with Afghanistan and support efforts to strengthen the country’s health sector.

The Kandahar branch of the Afghan Red Crescent Society says more than 3,000 mental health patients, including men and women, have received treatment at home across southern Afghanistan over the past five years.

Officials said 405 patients were also treated at the Afghan Red Crescent’s mental health treatment center in Kandahar and returned to their homes. The center is the only facility in southern Afghanistan providing treatment to mental health patients from the region.

According to officials, during the past five years, 1,936 male and 1,331 female mental health patients received treatment at their homes.

Currently, 158 patients, including men and women who pose a risk to themselves or others, are being kept and treated at the center, while treatment for another 804 patients is continuing at their homes.

Doctors said patients considered a serious danger to society are kept at the center on a permanent basis and receive regular treatment.

Meanwhile, some patients who were previously brought to the center in poor condition are now recovering and have expressed satisfaction with the services they have received.

The development comes as officials from the Red Crescent’s southern regional branch say mental health problems linked to poverty and family difficulties are increasing.

Despite the challenges, they said efforts are underway to expand mental health services so that more patients can receive treatment.