Russia's health watchdog says a laboratory worker who died in Siberia had pneumonia of unknown cause. Rospotrebnadzor issued that finding on Sunday, 4 October. The woman worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, a state centre that studies plague. Two days earlier, Alexei Tsydenov, head of neighbouring Buryatia, said she possibly died of plague.
Pneumonic plague attacks the lungs and spreads between people through coughs, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. Russian outlets report at least 197 contacts under medical watch. Officials have also called off planned public events. Igor Kobzev, governor of the Irkutsk region, said on Friday that 'the contacts show no signs of illness.'
