WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the United States is monitoring reports of a plague infection at a Russian laboratory but that it is not a “cause for alarm.”

“There’s very limited travel between the US and Russia, obviously, but like anything else, something like that gets out, it could quickly spread,” Rubio told reporters before taking off on a visit to Iceland.

“So we’re watching and monitoring it closely. I don’t think it’s cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause to just keep an eye on it. And we’re doing that.”