U.S. Embassy warns Americans about plague situation in Russia
The U.S. Embassy in Russia is monitoring media reports of a suspected pneumonic plague death, along with hospital closures and quarantine measures in the Irkutsk region.
An embassy statement on Tuesday did not constitute a new travel warning or change the State Department’s existing Level 4 advisory, which tells Americans not to travel to Russia for any reason, Newsweek reported.
The advisory, issued December 29, 2025, cites terrorism, unrest, wrongful detention and other risks.
“The U.S. government has limited ability to help U.S. citizens in Russia, especially outside of Moscow,” the alert read. “The State Department’s Level 4 Travel Advisory [Do Not Travel] for Russia remains in place and states U.S. citizens currently in Russia should depart immediately. U.S. citizens planning travel to Russia are again strongly advised not to travel to Russia due to risk of wrongful detention and security concerns.”
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Nearly 200 people in Russia’s eastern Siberian Irkutsk region have been placed under medical observation following suspected exposure to plague.
The report said 189 people were being monitored following the illness of an employee at an anti-plague research institute in Irkutsk, CNBC reported.
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Alexei Tsydenov, head of the nearby Republic of Buryatia, said the woman had died from an unspecified form of plague.
Russia’s public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said Sunday that the employee had been diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown etiology” and that the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region and the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov remained stable.
The agency said expanded testing had not detected microorganisms linked to the employee’s work.
The update follows local media reports on Friday that a 27-year-old employee at an anti-plague institute had fallen ill wih suspected pneumonic plague after returning from a work trip to Buryatia, where an outbreak had been reported near the border with Mongolia, citing Russian Telegram channel Mash.
