What We Know About Russia Pneumonic 'Plague' After Dozens Quarantined in Siberia

Dozens of people have been quarantined and outbreak control measures are underway after a laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia died last week in undisclosed circumstances.Igor Kobzev, the regional governor of Irkutsk, said Monday the staffer had died from “pneumonia of undetermined” origin. Acknowledging there have been “different interpretations of the events” in the media, he said extensive laboratory tests had determined “no microorganisms related to the girl's professional activities were found in her biological samples.” He also said no new employees from the institute had sought medical attention in the past few days.Rospotrebnadzor, the government body responsible for public health, similarly told state media the institute had not found signs of ​any accidents involving the handling of pathogens in the lab.Maxim Modin, the mayor of the Shelekhovsky district in the Irkutsk region, said “comprehensive anti-epidemic measures are being implemented” in the area in response to the incident and that anyone who had contact with the deceased patient is being tested daily. Dozens of people who had been in contact with the lab worker have now been ...