Washington, Oct. 6 -- United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Washington is closely observing a suspected plague case involving a laboratory employee in Russia, amid apprehensions that the contagion could have undergone internal transmission.

He noted that Washington's intelligence regarding the event remains restricted to details supplied by Russian officials, though US authorities are keeping a close watch due to the inherent risk of infectious diseases migrating beyond their initial source.

Whilst addressing reporters at Joint Base Andrews prior to setting off on a European visit, Rubio remarked, "We don't - we know what we know, obviously, about whatever the Russians have provided, which is it seems that there was a...