US urges citizens to leave Russia amid suspected pneumonic plague outbreak in Siberia

The US Embassy in Moscow has advised American citizens to leave Russia immediately following reports of a possible pneumonic plague case in the Irkutsk region, where about 200 people have been hospitalized and several hospitals quarantined after the death of a plague institute employee. The situation is developing, with the extent of the outbreak and its cause still uncertain, but the advisory signals heightened concern over a potential public health emergency.