A lab researcher at a Russian institute died after developing pneumonia of an "unknown" origin. This has raised questions about the possibility of pneumonic plague. The 28-year-old lab researcher worked at the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute in Siberia. According to reports, several people have been quarantined there after the incident. Meanwhile, Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian agency that oversees infectious disease, has stated there is no connection between the death of the young lab researcher and her work.
Notably, the World Health Organization (WHO) claimed that it is in contact with the Russian authorities, and is trying to determine what exactly happened, which kind of testing is carried out and whether there are any global health implications or not.
