Laboratory assistant dies of pneumonic plague after accident in Russia

According to the authorities, the 28-year-old woman died of a "particularly serious form of pneumonia". She worked as a laboratory assistant at a civilian laboratory belonging to the Russian health authority, the Irkutsk Plague Research Institute, which monitors the spread of plague in the country. The plague bacteria is found, among other things, in certain rodents in Mongolia and Siberia.

The accident with a test tube that broke should have happened a week ago, and according to media reports, it should have contained the infectious agent that causes pneumonic plague. She died on the second of October.

After she first went to hospital, infection tracing has taken place, and all the people she has been in contact with have been quarantined, around 200 people. None of these should have fallen ill, according to the authorities.

On Friday, other hospitals in the area were also quarantined, which led to concern among the population. According to local media, people have started buying antibiotics and protective equipment at pharmacies.

However, the authorities refute that there should be any spread of infection.