Laboratory worker dies of pneumonia at Russian plague research institute

A worker at a plague research laboratory in Siberia died of pneumonia in 2019. She was 28 years old and worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute. Officials said she may have been exposed to the bacteria that causes plague during her work. Russian health authorities did not share the full pathogen data publicly. The World Health Organization asked Russia for more information, because there were unconfirmed reports of a second pneumonia case nearby. International health officials said the risk to the general public was low. The institute employs about 95 researchers and has monitored dangerous infections across Siberia since 1934. Local medical facilities began asking patients about plague symptoms as a precaution.