Five Siberian hospitals quarantined after lab worker's suspected plague death

Five hospitals in Irkutsk, Siberia, are under quarantine after the death of a 28-year-old laboratory technician, who may have been exposed to pneumonic plague. Authorities are investigating the cause of death. The technician, Daria Shipilova, worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute and died after a severe respiratory illness. Nearly 200 contacts are under medical observation while tests determine if she was exposed to Yersinia pestis. The cause of death remains unconfirmed. Pneumonic plague is a severe lung infection that can be transmitted between people via respiratory droplets. The quarantine may last about three weeks, with restrictions also extended to a local aluminum plant. The U.S. is monitoring the situation.