Russian anti-plague lab researcher dies of illness with ‘unknown’ origin

A laboratory worker at a plague research institute in Siberia has fallen ill and died in undisclosed circumstances, prompting authorities to quarantine dozens of people and the head of Russia’s health watchdog to fly to the Irkutsk region. The death has sparked public health fears on social media, but the authorities said on Monday the situation was under control.Plague is endemic to Siberia. It is the location of the first known prehistoric human outbreak of the bacterium that causes it, known as Yersinia pestis, which is present among the small wild mammals in its vast wilderness and their fleas.It is rare for Russians to fall ill with plague, though cases in other parts of the world – notably Africa – occur every year.Local media named the woman as Darya Shipilova, an employee at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. Story continues below advertisement There were conflicting reports about how and where the laboratory worker, whose age was given as 28, had fallen ill, but the authorities said she had died of pneumonia of as-yet unestablished origin. Get daily National news Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day...