A laboratory technician in eastern Siberia dies of pneumonic plague

A woman has died of pneumonic plague in the Irkutsk region of eastern Siberia. A regional official announced this, while a Russian media outlet reports that dozens of people have been quarantined. Local media identified the woman as Daria Chipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory technician. The Russian newspaper "Peoples of Baikal" reported that he worked for the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute and that he might have contracted pneumonic plague from a broken test tube. Up to 200 people with whom he might have been in contact have been quarantined, the media outlet added without providing further details.

Silence from the Russian Ministry of Health

The Russian Ministry of Health made no immediate statement and AFP was unable to verify this information. Alexei Tsydenov, the governor of Russia's Buryatia region, said in an earlier social media post that a woman in the nearby Irkutsk region had "died from the plague." Plague is an infectious disease caused by bacteria. Pneumonic plague is highly contagious and can be deadly if not treated quickly, according to the World Health Organization.

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